One of the most important developments this year for the Australian Border Force (ABF), as well as Australia’s national security more broadly, was the Prime Minister’s announcement on 18 July 2017 of the formation of a new Home Affairs portfolio. The Acting Commander for Customs Compliance Home Affairs portfolio, Stephen Hledik, this week outlined the Goods Compliance Update (GCU) which contains significant information about future organisational arrangements.
The Home Affairs portfolio will bring together immigration, border protection and domestic security agencies into a single portfolio. The ABF will form an operationally independent agency alongside the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre.
The facilitation of trade will remain a key priority of the ABF under the Home Affairs arrangements. The ABF will also continue to be Australia’s customs service, continuing to focus on its vital role in securing the border and facilitating the movement of people and goods and responding to incidents of non-compliance.
Trade modernisation initiatives, such as the Australian Trusted Trader (ATT) program, the signing of Mutual Recognition Arrangements with Australia’s top trading partners, and the commitment to identify options for a single point of access for international trade will also continue under the new Home Affairs arrangements. Increasing efforts to secure the supply chain will remain central to the ABF mission, and the Customs Compliance Branch more specifically.
ABF’s partnership with industry, particularly trusted entities in the supply chain, continues to be a vital element in achieving a secure and prosperous international trading environment. Bringing Australia’s domestic security and border agencies together into the one portfolio will strengthen the ability to identify and focus efforts on the areas of highest risk and also achieve more coordinated engagement with all those involved in the import industry.
