Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
1999
THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of
the Minister for Sport and Tourism,
the Honourable Jackie Kelly
MP)
ISBN: 0642 40092X
AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILL
1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILL 1999
The purpose of this Bill is to increase the capabilities of the
Australian Sports Commission to ensure that Australian sports men and women
competing at a national or international level are doing so on a level playing
field, a playing field free from the use of performance enhancing drugs and
doping methods.
The Australian Sports Commission is one of the key
Commonwealth agencies with responsibility for sport and the sporting
environment. It is essential to provide the Commission with the ability to
contribute to a co-ordinated national approach to discourage the use of drugs in
sport. This is particularly important as athletes prepare for the Sydney 2000
Games.
The primary aim of this Bill is to improve the
Commission’s ability to work with sporting organisations to foster a
sporting environment that is free from the unsanctioned use of performance
enhancing drugs and doping methods.
To facilitate this function, the
Bill provides a framework for the disclosure, to the Commission, of certain
information gained by the Australian Customs Service (Customs) in respect of the
importation, or attempted importation, into Australia, of performance enhancing
drugs or substances that can conceal the use of those performance enhancing
drugs. Any disclosure of information would be made under stringent conditions
having regard to secrecy obligations and privacy principles.
The
Executive Director of the Commission would use this information to determine
whether there has been a likely breach of its anti-doping policy or that of a
national or international sporting organisation. The Bill provides a mechanism
for the Commission to disclose information to a national or international
sporting organisation where there has been a likely breach of that
organisation’s anti-doping policy.
The Bill also provides for
the disclosure of limited information by the Commission to Customs. The
Executive Director of the Commission may authorise the disclosure of the
information if satisfied that there is likely to have been a breach of an
anti-doping policy, and that it is likely the information would assist Customs
in determining whether an importation or attempted importation is sport related
and falls within the scope of this Bill.
The rights of individuals have
been safeguarded by limitations being imposed not only on the type of
information disclosed, but also the manner in which, and the conditions under
which, it can be disclosed, and on the use to which the information can be put.
Furthermore, the Bill specifically imposes secrecy obligations on
Commission officials not to disclose protected information without direct
authorisation from the Executive Director of the Commission. The Bill provides
that a Commission official will be taken to be a Commonwealth officer and will
be subject to section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914 which imposes secrecy
obligations on Commonwealth officers.
The Commission’s budget will absorb the costs of the additional
administrative action involved in this initiative.
1. This clause provides for this Bill to be cited as the Australian Sports Commission Amendment Act 1999.
2. This clause provides for this Bill to commence on the 28th day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent or immediately after the commencement of the Customs Legislation Amendment Act 1999, whichever is later.
3. This clause provides a schedule of items proposing amendments to the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989.
Item 1 - At the end of subsection 7(1)
4. This item will
add an additional subparagraph to section 7(1) to include a new function to
enable the Commission to co-operate with national and international sporting
organisations to foster a sporting environment that is free from the
unsanctioned use of performance-enhancing drugs and doping methods.
5. This item will insert a new Part entitled ‘Part VIIA - Disclosure
and use of protected etc. information’ at the end of Part VII.
6. This Part will provide for the Commission to receive information from
the Australian Customs Service (Customs) relating to the importation or
attempted importation, into Australia, of performance enhancing drugs or
substances that can conceal the use of those drugs. The item will also provide
for the Executive Director of the Commission to authorise the disclosure of
information to Customs under specified circumstances. The item will also
provide for the Executive Director of the Commission to authorise the disclosure
of certain information to sporting organisations under specified conditions.
7. A definition of ‘anti-doping policy’ will establish the
meaning of this term for the purposes of this Part.
8. A definition of
‘Commission official’ will establish the meaning of this term for
the purposes of this Part.
9. A definition of ‘competitor’
will establish the meaning of this term for the purposes of this Part.
10. A definition of ‘Customs CEO’ will establish the meaning
of this term for the purposes of this Part.
11. A definition of
‘doping method’ will establish the meaning of this term for the
purposes of this Part. (Note: this definition has been aligned with the
definition of ‘doping method’ in the Australian Sports Drug
Agency Amendment Act 1999.)
12. A definition of
‘protected information’ will establish the meaning of this term for
the purposes of this Part.
13. A definition of ‘sporting
organisation’ will establish the meaning of this term for the purposes of
this Part.
14. A definition of ‘sports substance’ will
establish the meaning of this term for the purposes of this Part.
15. Complementary amendments are required and will be made to the Customs Administration Act 1985 that will empower Customs to provide certain information to the Commission.
16. New section 51B will provide that for the purposes of subsection 16(3A)
of the Customs Administration Act 1985 information held by Customs which
relates to the importation or attempted importation into Australia of sports
substances is information that can be passed to the Commission, subject to
certain conditions. The proposed conditions are that the Customs CEO is
satisfied that at least one of the following requirements is
met:
• the importation or attempted importation contravenes a law
of the Commonwealth; or
• there are reasonable grounds to suspect that
a competitor is responsible for the importation or attempted importation of a
sports substance; or
• there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a
sports substance is for use by one or more competitors. (The sort of persons
Customs might conclude may be supplying a sports substance to competitors
include sports coaches, sports team doctors, sports team managers and
officials).
17. Proposed new section 51C will provide that for the purposes of subsection
16(9) of the Customs Administration Act 1985, the purpose of the
Executive Director determining whether an anti-doping policy is likely to have
been breached is taken to be a permissible purpose.
New
Section 51D - Duty not to disclose protected information
18. New
subsection 51D(1) will provide that a Commission official must not disclose any
protected information to a person who is not a Commission official, except as
authorised by the Executive Director under proposed new Section 51E, or as
required by any other law. This latter condition has been included to ensure
that Commission officials can meet their legal obligations under other
legislation. (For example, under this provision Commission officials may
release information to a person to whom the information relates, as required
under the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.)
19. New
subsection 51D(2) will provide that, for the avoidance of doubt, a Commission
official will be taken to be a Commonwealth officer who is subject to secrecy
obligations under section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914.
20. New section 51E will provide that the Executive Director of the
Commission may disclose protected information under limited conditions and will
provide for the Executive Director to specify the manner in which, or the
conditions under which, the disclosure may be made.
21. New
subsections 51E(1)(a) and (b) provide that this section will apply if, before
disclosing protected information, the Executive Director is satisfied that an
anti-doping policy of a sporting organisation is likely to have been breached,
and the protected information is likely to assist the sporting organisation to
determine whether to take action in accordance with its doping policy.
22. New subsections 51E(2)(a), (b) and (c) will allow the Executive
Director, if satisfied that the requirements in subsection 51E(1) have been met,
to authorise the disclosure of the protected information to the sporting
organisation if:
• the organisation has given a written undertaking
that the information will be used only in determining whether action will be
taken in accordance with the organisation’s anti-doping policy;
and
• the organisation has given a written undertaking not to disclose
or communicate the information to any person who is not a party, or acting on
behalf of a party, to the undertaking; and
• the Executive Director is
satisfied that the disclosure of the information by the Commission would not
contravene any terms of the authorisation under which the protected information
was disclosed to the Commission.
These subsections will impose
obligations on the Executive Director of the Commission in respect of the
disclosure and use of the information and the privacy of any individual to whom
the information relates.
23. New subsection 51E(3) will provide that
the Executive Director of the Commission may specify the manner in which, or the
conditions under which, the disclosure of information is to be made. This
includes the form in which the information is presented and the mode in which it
is to be transmitted. This subsection has been included to strengthen the
Commission’s ability to protect the information and the rights of any
individual to whom the information relates.
24. New subsection 51F(1) will provide for the Executive Director of the
Commission to authorise the disclosure of information to Customs to assist in
determining whether an importation or attempted importation of a sports
substance relates to a matter set out in paragraph 51B(b). The Executive
Director of the Commission may authorise the disclosure of the information if
satisfied that:
• a competitor or other person, reasonably
believed to be covered by an anti-doping policy, is likely to have breached that
anti-doping policy; and
• information about that person is likely to
assist Customs in making the determination.
25. New subsection 51F(2)
will provide that the Executive Director of the Commission may specify the
manner in which, or the conditions under which, the disclosure of information is
to be made. This includes the form in which the information is presented and
the mode in which it is to be transmitted. This subsection has been included to
strengthen the Commission’s ability to protect the information and the
rights of any individual to whom the information relates.