21 September 2021
Who does this notice affect?
Stakeholders in the import and shipping industries including cargo reporters (freight forwarders, transport companies, shipping lines), stevedores, importers, customs brokers, and any other operators in the supply and logistics chain that are responsible for reporting sea containers and break bulk arriving in to Australia destined for clearance at a different destination to the discharge port.
What has changed?
The Australian Border Force (ABF) will facilitate new reporting and clearance processes for sea cargo known as 'Gateway Clearance' from Friday 1 October 2021.
Currently consignments that are listed on the sea cargo report that have different ports of discharge and destination are required to be moved under bond on arrival to the listed port of destination where they are then released from biosecurity and customs control. Gateway Clearance will allow cleared sea cargo to be released from customs and biosecurity control at the port of discharge before transport to the intended final destination within Australia.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment supports the introduction of Gateway Clearance as a deregulation initiative to simplify the border clearance process for importers and logistics providers. It also serves to reduce the movement of uncleared sea cargo which could inadvertently carry a range of contaminants into the environment.
Importers and brokers wishing to utilise Gateway Clearance will need to identify the port of destination to be the same as the port of discharge, irrespective of the final destination address. Note that specific biosecurity import conditions for goods as per BICON will still apply which may exclude utilising the Gateway Clearance option.
Further information
More information on the changes is available on the Australian Border Force website – Australian Customs Notice 2021/38 - Gateway Clearance of Sea Cargo.