On 2 December 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021 (Cth) (“Act”). The new laws are intended to modernise Australia’s autonomous sanctions regime by creating a framework to facilitate the establishment of a thematic sanctions regime to enable Australia to respond flexibly and swiftly to a range of situations of international concern. A key difference to the current sanctions regime is that the new laws will…
Export from Australia of hand sanitiser, face masks and other infection control items are temporarily prohibited effective 30 March 2020. The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment (COVID-19 Human Biosecurity Emergency) Regulations 2020 (Cth) (Regulation) amended the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (Cth) to temporarily prohibit export of goods that are key to minimising the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Australia. Under the Regulation, disposable face masks, disposable gloves, disposable gowns, goggles, glasses and eye visors,…
The Australian Government has removed the requirement for financial institutions to obtain a permit for financial transactions with Iran exceeding AUD 20,000. These were known as “financial countermeasures”. Previously, under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (Iran Countermeasures) Regulations 2014, Australian financial institutions needed a permit to provide certain designated services to Iranian persons and entities for transactions exceeding AUD 20,000. The removal of the financial countermeasures was effective 27 February 2016. The removal of…
Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans relating to Russia against designated persons and entities in June and September 2014. Expanded sanctions were announced in September 2014. Following a consultation period, the expanded regime has just taken effect. The expanded sanctions restrict: export to and import from Russia of arms and related materiel; export to Russia of specified items for use in petroleum exploration and production; export to Crimea and Sevastopol of specified…