Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The Secretary may suspend an approved arrangement, or a part of an approved arrangement, if the Secretary reasonably believes any of the following:
(a) the integrity of a kind of prescribed goods covered by the approved arrangement cannot be ensured;
(b) if the holder of the approved arrangement is a kind of person who is required by rules made for the purposes of section 373 to be a fit and proper person for the purposes of this Chapter--the holder is not a fit and proper person;
(c) a requirement referred to in subsection 151(2) is no longer met;
(d) export operations covered by the approved arrangement have not been, or are not being, carried out in accordance with the approved arrangement, or a condition of the approved arrangement has been, or is being, contravened;
(e) circumstances relating to any of the export operations or goods covered by the approved arrangement have changed;
(f) carrying out a kind of export operations in relation to a kind of prescribed goods in accordance with the approved arrangement will no longer ensure:
(i) compliance with the requirements of this Act in relation to those export operations and goods; or
(ii) that importing country requirements relating to those export operations and goods are met;
(g) export operations have not been carried out for a continuous period of 12 months or more in relation to some or all of the goods covered by the approved arrangement;
(h) the holder of the approved arrangement:
(i) failed to comply with a direction given to the holder by an authorised officer or the Secretary; or
(ii) failed to comply with a request by an authorised officer to provide information or a document; or
(iii) failed to provide facilities and assistance to an auditor as required by section 271; or
(iv) failed to comply with a request made by an auditor under section 272;
(i) the holder of the approved arrangement has engaged in conduct that:
(i) intimidated a person performing functions or exercising powers under this Act; or
(ii) hindered or prevented a person from performing functions or exercising powers under this Act;
(j) the holder of the approved arrangement, or a person who manages or controls or carries out export operations covered by the approved arrangement:
(i) made a false, misleading or incomplete statement in an application under this Chapter; or
(ii) gave false, misleading or incomplete information or documents to the Secretary or to another person performing functions or exercising powers under this Act; or
(iii) gave false, misleading or incomplete information or documents to the Secretary or the Department under a prescribed agriculture law;
(k) the holder of the approved arrangement has contravened a requirement of this Act in relation to the approved arrangement;
(l) a ground prescribed by the rules exists.
Note 1: A suspension must not be for more than 12 months (see section 174).
Note 2: A decision to suspend an approved arrangement, or a part of an approved arrangement, under this section is a reviewable decision (see Part 2 of Chapter 11).
Notice of proposed suspension
(2) The Secretary must not suspend an approved arrangement, or a part of an approved arrangement, under subsection (1) unless the Secretary has given a written notice to the holder of the approved arrangement in accordance with subsection (3).
(3) A notice under subsection (2) must:
(a) specify whether the whole of the approved arrangement is proposed to be suspended, or whether a part of the approved arrangement is proposed to be suspended and, if so, which part; and
(b) specify the grounds for the proposed suspension; and
(c) subject to subsection (4), request the holder of the approved arrangement to give the Secretary, within 14 days after the day the notice is given, a written statement showing cause why the approved arrangement, or the part of the approved arrangement, should not be suspended as proposed; and
(d) include a statement setting out the holder's right to seek review of a decision to suspend the approved arrangement, or the part of the approved arrangement, as proposed.
(4) A notice under subsection (2) is not required to include the request referred to in paragraph (3)(c) if the Secretary reasonably believes that the grounds for the suspension are serious and urgent.