8 November 2023
Who does this notice affect?
Clients in the imports and shipping industries – including freight forwarders, importers, and customs brokers – associated with imported goods and containers selected for the Cargo Compliance Verification (CCV) inspection.
What has changed?
The CCV inspection requires accurate time estimation. When booking the CCV inspection, clients need to consider container size, whether the goods are palletised or loose, and the number of staff provided for manual unpacks. It is also necessary for the department’s biosecurity officers to complete site induction before commencing inspections.
These considerations will assist the department to manage its workforce and ensure your goods can be inspected in a timely manner. There have been no changes in relation to charges; no inspection charges will be applied for consignments that comply with biosecurity requirements.
What is CCV?
Under the department’s CCV program, random inspections are conducted on containerised sea cargo imported into Australia, including commodities which are not typically directed for inspection.
The CCV program safeguards the integrity of the Australian biosecurity system by:
- ensuring importers and their agents comply with all import requirements
- ensuring that the department’s import controls are operating effectively
- providing information on emerging biosecurity risks and non-compliance trends.
An effective biosecurity system helps to protect Australia’s industries and environment from exotic pests and diseases.
How will this affect you?
While CCV inspections are conducted at a very low sampling rate, there is a chance your consignment will be selected for a random verification inspection through the CCV program.
When a consignment is selected, the department notifies importers or their agents, by issuing a ‘Compliance Verification – Inspect (Secure Seals Intact)’ direction via our entry management system, Agriculture Import Management System (AIMS).
How can industry assist?
When making a CCV inspection booking, it is important to allocate time for the biosecurity officer to:
- be given a site induction at any non-AA locations
- supervise the breaking of the container seal and the full unpack of the selected container
- conduct the inspection of the goods, any packaging, and the container, keeping in mind that consignments with more lines will require more time.
You can help minimise any delays by ensuring:
- when requesting an inspection, please nominate an agreed inspection time (not less than 2 hours), based on knowledge of the consignment and how long it is expected to take to unpack and inspect
- requested containers are held at the agreed location with seals intact until a biosecurity officer is present to conduct the inspection; all remaining containers in the consignment must remain seals intact until the requested container is finalised and released
- your staff are available to fully unpack the consignment within the agreed inspection time
- all required documentation is submitted to the department in a timely manner and is also made available at the inspection, including documentation that specifies the commodities listed on the Full Import Declaration
- the work environment is safe for our biosecurity officers and your staff.
For consignments containing imported foods, importers and their agents should be aware that inspection and testing processes required under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) may still apply after the CCV inspection. Please discuss any IFIS requirements with the department’s bookings officer to ensure that arrangements can be made to coordinate these activities.
Further information
For further information please contact 1800 900 090.
More details on the CCV program can also be found on the department’s website.