Customs Amendment (Safeguard Inquiries) Bill 2026

Summary

The Australian Customs Service will have new rules for handling safeguard inquiries — these are investigations into whether imported goods are damaging local industries and deserve protection through tariffs or quotas. This amendment updates the Customs Act 1901 to set clearer procedures and timeframes for how the Customs Service must examine safeguard cases and make decisions. The change matters because it creates more certainty for businesses, importers, and local manufacturers about how long investigations will take and what information they need to provide, reducing delays and unpredictability in protecting Australian industries from unfair import competition.

What happens at this stage

The final vote in this chamber on the bill as a whole, after all amendments have been considered. If it passes, the bill moves to the other chamber to go through the same process. If both chambers have already agreed to identical text, the bill proceeds directly to Royal Assent.

Next: The other chamber, which runs the same process from First Reading, or Royal Assent if both chambers have already agreed