8 March 2024
Who does this notice affect?
Importers, custom brokers, and other industry participants who submit documentation for assessment via the Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS).
What has changed?
The department anticipates its ability to meet the published client service standards timeframes for the assessment of Import documentation of non-urgent commodities will come under further pressure in the short to medium term. Timeframes in relation to urgent commodities are expected to continue to be met.
High volumes of entry lodgements continue to be received and the department expects this trend to continue. The Self-Assessed Clearance (SAC) workload also remains at high levels.
What are we doing to manage workload demand?
The department is implementing strategies to assist with the management of workload. These include:
- Undertaking planned recruitment processes with the aim to onboard 75 assessment officers nationally.
- Reviewing the risk associated with various commodities coming into Australia. This results in a lower referral rate and less intervention for a number of commodities while maintaining a strong and effective biosecurity system.
- Temporarily diverting workforce capacity to document assessment functions.
- Reimplementing peak period strategies to provide maximum capacity with available resources.
- Better managing requests for document assessments outside of business hours, which continue to be facilitated subject to capacity. Requests are currently exceeding 1200 per week.
How can industry assist?
Industry can assist to ensure timely turnaround by:
- Ensuring documents and other information is lodged completely and accurately and in line with the department’s minimum documentary requirements and import conditions.
- The demand on assessment functions continues to be compounded by higher levels of lodgements with either insufficient documentation and or document errors, which has a significant impact on overall document assessment delays.
- Data from FY 2022-23 shows that over 11% of import documentation was lodged in an incomplete manner and over 6% were lodged with errors.
- Increasing use to Approved Arrangement Class 19. An analysis of Class 19 data has highlighted opportunity for increased uptake by industry participants.
- In 2023, only 44.2% of potential lodgements were processed using Class 19.
- Over the past 6 months, the 20 highest throughput customs brokerage firms used Class 19 for only 51.55% of eligible entries lodged. Potentially 43,351 entries (around 7,225) could have been lodged using Class 19 were referred to the department for assessment.
- Importers are encouraged, where possible, to request their customs brokers use Class 19 in the clearance of their consignments. This will also avoid requesting document assessment outside business hours, which incurs additional costs.
- The department is looking to ways to increase industry awareness regarding eligible Class 19 commodities and is preparing additional commodities to be added to Class 19. Please contact the department if you would like to engage on the Class 19 arrangement and opportunities.
- Ensuring that documents are lodged well in advance of arrival of the goods.
- Avoiding repeatedly calling or emailing the department checking on the status of a lodgement for document assessment – this compounds delays as it removes resources from document assessment to responding to queries.
- Using the Biosecurity Portal to obtain directions including finalised and released directions.
- Ensuring any specific additional information is included in the ‘additional information’ field in COLS.
- Regardless of the expected assessment outcome, nominating a valid Approved Arrangement (AA) inspection location, preferably with the AA registration number and name, to avoid additional processing delays.
- For SAC clients, investigating the possibility of participating in the SAC paperless process. This feature automatically retrieves documents upon referral from the ICS. Please see Self assessed clearance cargo: how we work with industry for further information.
- Increasing uptake and usage of AA 14.4 arrangements for rural tailgate inspections.