In 2024, the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) will embed the annual review and apply indexation to regulatory fees and charges. Today (28 June 2024) they have issued industry advice notice 139-2024: “2024-25 prices for biosecurity and imported food regulatory activities.”
This action follows their industry consultation, as we reported in our April article, Charges for Biosecurity and Imported Food.
The latest notice is addressed to stakeholders in the import and shipping industries – including imported food stakeholders, customs brokers, freight forwarders, vessel masters, biosecurity industry participants and shipping agents.
New fees and charges for biosecurity and imported food regulatory activities will commence on 01 July 2024. All legislated regulatory charges that are subject to an indexation provision will increase by 4.1% on that date.
Indexation of legislated rates does not require changes to legislation, new rates for 2024-25 are the calculated replacement amounts described in the 2024-25 Biosecurity CRIS and pricing tables.
CRIS is the Cost Recovery Implementation Statement, which provides information on how DAFF implements cost recovery for biosecurity and imported food regulatory activities. Their regulatory activities are associated with the controls and measures to manage and minimise the risk of pests, weeds and diseases entering, emerging, establishing or spreading within Australia while facilitating trade and the movement of plants, animals, people and products
Last year, in conjunction with the implementation of new charges, DAFF committed to an annual review of regulatory charges and made changes to legislation to include indexation. Regulatory charging is a key element to funding Australia’s biosecurity system and remains central to long-term sustainable funding arrangements. The annual review will support ongoing alignment of prices with the cost to deliver our regulatory functions and avoid the need for large price increases in future years.
2024-25 Biosecurity CRIS
The 2024-25 Biosecurity CRIS contains the indexed prices for regulatory charges, relevant information on DAFF’s authority to cost recover, its estimated costs, forecast volumes and cost recovery revenue for biosecurity and imported food regulatory activity. Financial tables show past performance and forecast costs for future years.
Pricing tables set out the indexed prices for regulatory charges and describe the indexation methodology prescribed in legislation and applied to calculate new prices.
Billing after 01 July 2024
As the transition to new fees and charges unfolds, changes to invoices will be noticed. There will be new prices, new codes and in some cases new descriptions. An old and a new price listed for the same service may also be seen, depending on when the regulatory activities were carried out.
Colless Young is here to assist you in improving the flow-time of import document processing and minimising your costs. As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, we take care of your cargo economically and professionally. Based in Brisbane, Colless Young provides a complete range of logistics services, including clearance through customs and biosecurity (quarantine), by sea and air, at all major Australian ports and airports.
