Australian Trusted Trader officially launched (NNF 2016/109)


On Friday 19 August 2016 the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc. (CBFCA) was invited by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) to attend the formal Ministerial launch event at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins. The event recognised accredited Trusted Traders (ATT) and the significant contribution of the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) members and ATT Pilot partners in the design and development of the program.

CBFCA is represented on the IAG and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon. Peter Dutton MP  recognised the value of government and industry partnerships. The ATT program is good for business and trade, which will standardise legitimate trade facilitation by securing international supply chains, said the Hon. Peter Dutton MP.

To celebrate, the event was hosted by the Hon. Peter Dutton MP. Key industry and government partners attended, including the Assisting Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Keith Pitt MP. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Roman Quaedvlieg, joined the Minister in recognising Australia’s first accredited Trusted Traders – Teys Australia Beenleigh, Target Australia, Pacific Brands, and Techwool.

“On 1 July 2016 the Australian Border Force (ABF) voluntary trade facilitation initiative, ATT, opened to all Australian businesses active in the international supply chain.

The value of government and industry partnerships was also recognised. All attendees were encouraged to continue their support through ongoing contribution to the design of the programme – including attendance of an ATT workshop that followed the event.  ATT creates a fundamental change in the way the ABF processes legitimate trade flows across our border by introducing a two track system. 

The programme supports partnership between government and businesses that are recognised and trusted as highly secure and low risk enterprises. This partnership allows the ABF to focus on high risk consignments and businesses that are more likely to be non-compliant.

The two track trade flow system will be enhanced by customs to customs Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) that enable government border agencies to recognise and accept each other’s audits, controls and authorisation, and remove a lot of the regulatory burden faced when doing international business. For Australian Trusted Traders it will mean they will receive preferential border treatment and trade facilitation benefits when conducting trade between MRA partner countries.

In July 2016 Australia’s first MRA was signed with New Zealand. This provides trusted Trans-Tasman exporters with fast-tracked customs processing. Members of the ATT programme and the New Zealand Customs Service Secure Export Scheme will benefit from the arrangement which is anticipated to allow up to 13 per cent of New Zealand import volume to Australia—totalling $3 billion—to be facilitated, along with $7.5 billion of Australian exports by 2020.

To apply for ATT, your business must have an Australian Business Number (ABN), two years of trading history, and be financially solvent. The programme is open to importers, exporters and service providers. Trusted Traders receive a suite of trade facilitation benefits including a dedicated Account Manager, priority service when requesting advanced rulings on tariff, valuation and origin, differentiated examinations at the border, and access to MRAs.

For more information, or to apply, visit  www.border.gov.au/Busi/Trus

Following the Ministerial launch the CBFCA and other key industry associations / stakeholders  participated in facilitated ATT Workshops and provided ideas on the future of ATT and what industry want ATT and trade facilitation more broadly, to look like in 2020 and beyond.

At the “Beyond the Launch” workshop the CBFCA stated that that program’s trade facilitation benefits are for traders (importers and exporters) and while the program is opened to service providers the trade facilitation benefits are not clearly identified to provide an incentive for service providers to join the program. As the ABF focus is to grow the ATT program the CBFCA recommends expanding the program to provide clear benefits for service providers who play an important role in the trade facilitation process on behalf of importers and exporters.

The other workshop attended by the CBFCA was “Whole of Government” where we highlighted the need for a Single Window to Government for data exchange. From a service providers perspective we prefer to enter the data once in a single portal that enables regulatory agencies such as ABF, DAWR, ATO and OTS to access the data for assessment and cargo clearance. At present there is duplication of data entry to meet the requirements of all the regulatory agencies. A single portal for data exchange will improve the efficiency for service providers and improve the data integrity and security for regulatory agencies as the aim of the ATT program is to standardise legitimate trade facilitation by securing international supply chains.

As part of the upcoming CBFCA National Conference, 6-8 October 2016 at the Crown Promenade, Melbourne, we will have two presentations designed to provide further update and clarity on ATT.
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Ms. Wendy Stanton, Customs Manager at IKEA will provide an overview from a cargo owner's perspective as to their experience as an accredited Trusted Trader.

Ms. Meg Reid, Director ATT Operations, DIBP will provide an update on the implementation and will be available to take your questions on the scheme.

This event provides the perfect platform for you and your staff to be kept up to date with the pertinent issues of the day and be able to address any concerns you may have directly with the regulators and other industry service providers. For more information or to register now click HERE.

 

CBFCA Team