Defence (Prohibited Words and Letters) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No.1), Statutory Rules 2000 No.41

The Regulations include `Australian Army' as a phrase which may not be used in connection with a business or profession without the consent of the Minister, and permit the Minister to impose conditions on the grant of consent to a business to use a phrase, word or letters.

New subregulation 4(2), which is inserted by item 3 of the Schedule to these Regulations, provides the Minister with the discretion to grant permission to use a phrase, word or letter with or without conditions. The exercise of this discretion does not appear to be subject to external merits review (or, indeed, any review at all). The exercise of the Minister's discretion to consent to the use of a phrase, word or group of letters, in existing subregulation 4(1), is also not subject to any form of review, and that some form of external merits review may be appropriate. The Committee wrote to the Minister seeking his advice as to whether review of these discretions would be appropriate.

In response, the Minister indicated that in light of the Committee's concerns, fresh consideration was being given to whether external merit review was appropriate in the circumstances. Accordingly, the Committee gives this notice of notice to disallow in order to allow further correspondence with the Minister.