Appendix C – Category 3 Treaty Actions

Category 3 treaty actions are identifiably minor treaty actions (mainly minor/technical amendments to existing treaties) which do not impact significantly on the national interest. Category 3 treaty actions are tabled with a one-page explanatory statement. The Treaties Committee has the discretion to formally inquire into Category 3 treaty actions or indicate its acceptance of them without a formal inquiry and report.

The following Category 3 treaty actions have been considered by the Treaties Committee on the dates indicated. In each case the Committee determined not to hold a formal inquiry and agreed that binding treaty action may be taken.

Treaties tabled on 17 June 2008

Considered by the Committee on 2 September 2008

n  Amendment, adopted 1 October 2007, to Annex 1 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Convention Against Doping in Sport of 19 October 2005

This amendment updates the list of substances and methods of doping prohibited in sport under the relevant UNESCO Convention, reflecting the 2008 Prohibited List International Standard issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (the WADA List).  While the amendment will have little practical effect in Australia, as the specification of prohibited substances under the Australian Government’s anti-doping arrangements is based on the current WADA List, it promotes the international effort against doping in sport.[1]

Treaties tabled on 26 August 2008

Considered by the Committee on 23 September 2008

n  Amendment to the Agreement on Social Security between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Chile of 25 March 2003

n  Amendment, Adopted at Rome on 28 March 2008, to the Agreement for the Establishment of the International Development Law Organization of 5 February 1988, as Amended on 30 June 2002 and 30 November 2002

n  Amendment to Annex 4.1 (Rules of Origin) of the Australia-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) of 5 July 2004

The first of the treaty actions listed above would ensure consistent treatment, under Australia’s social security income test, of different Chilean payments to victims (and relatives of victims) of the human rights abuses and political violence which occurred in Chile between September 1973 and March 1990.  The practical and legal effect of the proposed treaty matter is minor, as it would benefit a small number of people residing in Australia (less than 100).[2] 

The second of the treaty actions would change the organisational structure of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) through the creation of a Board of Advisers.  The proposed treaty action is expected to improve IDLO’s organisational structure and governance, increasing its accountability to Member States and bringing it into line with other similar organisations.[3]

The third treaty action described above would ensure that tariff line numbers identifying goods in the Australia-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) accurately reflect the internationally agreed descriptions of goods overseen by the World Customs Organisation, reducing the potential for confusion for importers, exporters and customs services when processing goods through customs.[4]