The Department of Defence is currently undertaking a review of the Explosives Act 1961 and its subordinate regulations (the Explosives Transport Regulations 2002, and the Explosives Areas Regulations 2003).
Defence is inviting Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and industry stakeholders to have their say as part of the Explosives Act Thematic Review project that will help achieve a uniform legislative/regulatory framework for activities involving Commonwealth explosives.
The project is reviewing the current legislation and has identified 28 recommendations for consultation with relevant stakeholders to support the introduction of new legislation by 1 October 2024.
The 28 recommendations are contained in Defence’s developed position paper for legislative reform, the Comprehensive Review Paper (CRP). The CRP is a ‘point in time’ foundational document that canvases Defence’s initial analysis of core issues.
Defence is seeking input on the CRP recommendations by 15 Oct 21, with particular focus on an independent Commonwealth regulator for explosives, major hazard facilities, storage, the interaction with the WHS legislative framework and to understand their views on the current Commonwealth explosives framework.
Feedback can be provided using the Feedback Form, which can either be downloaded from the project’s website or by contacting Defence via the EATR mailbox listed at the end of this letter.
To support CRP feedback, Defence and its contractors (KPMG) will be hosting information webinars that will provide:
• an overview of the primary issues the paper seeks to address
• a summary of the relevant recommendations that Defence proposes for legislative reform.
These webinars will be conducted prior to a set of consultation sessions occurring from October to November 2021. The project’s consultation phase will continue throughout the first half of 2022. Details of these webinars and consultation sessions will be provided in due course via email.
More information can be found at https://www1.defence.gov.au/about/publications/explosives-act-thematic-review or by contacting the EATR Project team at explosivesact.thematicreview@defence.gov.au.