Export Control Act 2020

On receiving an application under section 150 to approve a proposed arrangement, the Secretary must decide:

to approve the arrangement; or

to refuse to approve the arrangement.

See section 379 for matters relating to dealing with applications.

If the application is to approve more than one proposed arrangement, the Secretary may decide to approve some or all of the proposed arrangements.

If the Secretary does not make a decision in relation to the application within the consideration period for the application, the Secretary is taken to have refused the application at the end of that period (see subsection 379(2)).

A decision to refuse to approve a proposed arrangement is a reviewable decision (see Part 2 of Chapter 11) and the Secretary must give the applicant written notice of the decision (see section 382).

The Secretary may approve the proposed arrangement if the Secretary is satisfied, having regard to any matter that the Secretary considers relevant, that the following requirements are met:

if the applicant 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 applicant is a fit and proper person;

either:

all relevant Commonwealth liabilities of the applicant have been paid or are taken to have been paid; or

if one or more relevant Commonwealth liabilities of the applicant have not been paid or are not taken to have been paid—the non‑payment is due to exceptional circumstances;

carrying out a kind of export operations in relation to a kind of prescribed goods in accordance with the arrangement will ensure:

compliance with the requirements of this Act in relation to those export operations and goods; and

that importing country requirements relating to those export operations and goods will be met;

any other requirement prescribed by the rules.

For the purposes of paragraph (b), a relevant Commonwealth liability of a person is taken to have been paid in certain circumstances (see section 431).

If the Secretary approves the proposed arrangement, the Secretary may, if the Secretary considers it appropriate, set an expiry date for the approved arrangement.

If there is no expiry date for the approved arrangement, the approved arrangement remains in force unless it is revoked (see subsection 154(1)).

A decision to set an expiry date for an approved arrangement is a reviewable decision (see Part 2 of Chapter 11).

The Secretary may set an expiry date for the approved arrangement under subsection (3) even if rules made for the purposes of subsection 154(5) apply in relation to the approved arrangement.