The Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Regulations 2021 have been introduced to implement the he Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021. Background.

Autonomous sanctions are measures not involving the use of armed force which the Australian Government imposes and implements as a matter of foreign policy. They are a discretionary tool which the Government can apply, alone or with like-minded countries, where appropriate, to address egregious situations of international concern

The Regulations introduce new thematic listing criteria to enable the Minister for Foreign Affairs to list persons and entities for the purposes of applying targeted financial sanctions and travel bans.

The Amendment Regulations introduce cyber, human rights and corruption thematic sanctions. Schedule 1 of the Amendment Regulations introduces listing criteria to enable the Minister to list persons and entities where satisfied:

• they have caused, assisted with causing, or been complicit in, a cyber incident or an attempted cyber incident that is significant, or which had it occurred, would have been significant; or
• they have engaged in, been responsible for, or been complicit in serious violations or serious abuses of a person’s right:
  • to life; or
  • not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or
  • not to be held in slavery or servitude, or be required to perform forced or compulsory labour; or
• they have engaged in, been responsible for, or been complicit in an act of corruption that is serious; or
• they are an immediate family member of a person who has been listed under the human rights or corruption listing criteria; or
• they are a person who, or entity that, has obtained a financial or other benefit as a result of another’s act, being an act for which that other person or entity has been listed under the human rights or corruption listing criteria.

There are two components to targeted financial sanctions under the Regulations:

• a designated person or entity becomes the object of the prohibition (which prohibits directly or indirectly making an asset available to, or for the benefit of, a designated person or entity, other than as authorised by a permit); and
• an asset owned or controlled by a designated person or entity is a ‘controlled asset’, subject to the prohibition (which requires a person who holds a controlled asset to freeze that asset, by prohibiting that person from either using or dealing with that asset, or allowing it to be used or dealt with, or facilitating the use of or dealing with it, other than as authorised by a permit ).

The purpose of a declaration is to prevent a person from travelling to, entering, or
remaining in, Australia.

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