In March 2020, the Australian government prohibited the export of some equipment that could help domestic efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, including:
The export prohibition was repealed when the Governor-General made the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Amendment (COVID-19 Export Restrictions Repeal) Regulations 2020 (Repeal Regulations), and they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The date of commencement of the Repeal Regulations is Friday 11 December 2020.
Australian Border Force note they have procedures in place to ensure that any PPE exports are not held up. They note that this applies to goods that are not at ‘a place of export’. If the goods have already been delivered to ‘a place of export’, then those goods will have to meet one of the exceptions under Regulation 13GJ of the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 or be seized.
Repeal regulation: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020L01567
Australian Customs Notice: https://www.abf.gov.au/help-and-support/notices/australian-customs-notices
Home Affairs website: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/imports-and-exports
ABF website: https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/prohibited-goods/categories/covid-exports and https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/prohibited-goods/list-of-items
For more information visit the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources response to Coronavirus.