It  goes without saying that since October 12th , Import processing both in terms of cargo reporting and import declaration has varied between difficult and disastrous. The Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison quickly formed an Industry Action Group on which AFIF is well  represented and the group have held high level meetings. In addition subgroups have been formed to deal with specific issues and all of these meetings and their outcomes have been reported to you in detail. In general terms we can report that a number of system changes and fixes to the specific problems have been agreed and relevant time frames to implement these have been notified. Regrettably we cannot promise overnight fixes and the workarounds and contingencies will remain in place for some time and despite the frustration, industry will be forced to demonstrate patience.

A recap of some of the major changes that will appear in due course are listed below :

·        Airfreight Underbond Automation

      Once the system changes are made by Customs and your software provider, a CARST message from Customs will trigger the automatic sending of the underbond removal request from your system to Customs. Time frame : by mid December.

·        Part-shipments

An interim measure has been introduced to allow the removal of second and subsequent part shipment arrivals once approval has been granted for the first part. This will cancel the need to submit the outturn report for the first part before removing the second part. Once the underbond automation fix is in place, your system can generate requests for second and subsequent part shipment removals automatically.

·        Matching Requirements for Sea Cargo Ocean Bill to Import Declaration

Requirement for the ocean bill number to match exactly that which is declared in the import declaration will be removed. Time frame : approx 5 weeks (ie early new year)

·       Matching Requirements for Ocean Bill of Lading and Cargo Reporting in Cascade Reports

The requirements to match cargo reports at all levels to the ocean bill details will be removed. However as this is a ‘cornerstone’ of the ICS it will take some time. Estimate 8 months.

·        System to Ignore Special Characters for Matching Requirements

A program is being written so that the system will ignore special characters in cargo reports such as dots, dashes, slashes, etc. Time frame : early new year

·        Voyage Number ‘Stripping’

A program is being written to enable the system to ‘ignore’ leading zeros and trailing alphas from voyage numbers.  Time frame : early new year

·        CI Diagnostics

A subcommittee has been working on improving the usability of diagnostic screens in the customs Interactive (CI) system. Suggested changes have been circulated to industry for comment and once agreed upon Customs will write the changes. Time frame : asap

·        Help Desk

      Changes are being made ‘on the run’ within the Customs help desk. One initiative has been to conduct tutorials with industry to solve frequently asked questions and demonstrate solutions to regular problems. These tutorials have been conducted in NSW and will extend to other states in due course. We will advise these new dates when known.

·        Privacy Issues: the viewing of restricted information 

     The scenario whereby brokers were able to view cargo declarations and information belonging to other brokers appears to have ceased. Customs explanation is that they have placed internal ‘traps’ to restrict this information from being accessible, whilst they develop a solution to prevent it happening in the first place ! We ask you to continue to be vigilant and advise us of any incidences of this anomaly.

There are many other matters which have been tabled and are undergoing identification and solution but these are some of the early ones which have been identified and are undergoing fixes.

For all AFIF bulletins which have been issued on any subject relating to import ICS, please visit and view the AFIF website and click on the banner that states Import ICS News.

Compensation ?

There’s been much talk about compensation in the press and also of possible ‘class actions’. At this time there is no formal process for making a claim other than notifying Customs through the email and fax numbers as previously issued. We are pushing this issue very hard using both our avenues through to senior Customs and also to the Customs Minister and the opposition Shadow Minister for Customs. In the meantime we urge everyone to keep detailed records of any additional costs, not just those related to direct costs (e.g. storage and / or container detention) but also costs related to overtime and other business costs. 

AIRFREIGHT

International Air Cargo Security - ‘RACA’ Program

You are all currently working under the Regulated Air Cargo Agents (RACA) transition program, whereby your previous programs were accepted under the new security legislation, for a limited period until March 2007. Prior to this new programs would need to be submitted to the Government Office of Transport Security (division of DOTARS) for approval. Guidelines for writing of the new programs have been issued by the department and are ‘outcome based’. AFIF along with the CBFCA is part of a cargo working group who will be assisting members in writing the new programs against the guidelines and information seminars will be presented to industry in early 2006. You may have already begun work on preparing the new program and we would encourage you to continue on this path. There should be no great change to your program except that now it will be a requirement to match what you currently do to the new guidelines.

Trial of Customs Neutron Scanner in Brisbane

We’ve been advised that once again the trial of the new x-ray technology in Brisbane has been postponed and is now likely to be conducted early in the new year. For more information on the new system please visit our website and look in NEWS ARCHIVE / SECURITY section.

GENERAL ISSUES

Industrial Relations - Controversial New Legislation

Whilst we await parliamentary approval of the new legislation and witness the campaign of vocal opposition to it, we have been investigating how it would effect our industry and most importantly the current award. We aim to have a brief overview paper out to you in due course.

Myfreightcareer wins Shipping Industry Award

At the Lloyds List/DCN Shipping Industry Awards held on the night of Thursday November 11th 2005, Industry Traineeship provider - Myfreightcareer won the award Education and Training Award.

In a statement issued shortly after the Awards Simon Parsons (Director of Myfreightcareer) had the following to say:- " the entire team at myfreightcareer are extremely proud for the recognition in receiving the award at the 10th anniversary of the Lloyds List DCN annual Australian Shipping & Transport awards 2005.

The benefits to the progressive companies supporting Myfreightcareer have been enormously well received and we are extremely pleased to be able to deliver such results in conjunction with our partner AFIF.

Mr. Parsons also says the dedicated & professional trainers in each of the States are overjoyed and passionately believe the trainees are on their way to wonderful industry careers through the direct results of the structured training program and mentoring system."

AFIF would like to add that the traineeship conducted by Myfreightcareer in conjunction with AFIF training has been of significant benefit to many of our members and we congratulate them on their success.

Agency Cooperation

We are holding details of overseas agents wishing to set-up cooperative arrangements. If you are looking just send an email to afif@afif.asn.au , with details of the country of interest. We may be able to assist !!

Accommodation & Travel

Please click here to go to the relevant information at our Website:  http://www.afif.asn.au/news_travelhotels.asp

Check out the AFIF Website for Latest Industry Info !                                    

Just a reminder that our website is updated daily, with new items added to our front page and archived in relevant News Folder. So please check for the latest info regularly !

:: EVENTS