News

Australian horticulture producers and exporters have received a boost with new agreements that will deliver practical and commercially viable export opportunities for our summerfruit. The implementation of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) means that from 1 January 2018, most Australian summerfruit will face a tariff of only 2 per cent in China, down from […]

Back in July the Prime Minister announced reforms to Australia’s national security and intelligence arrangements. These reforms involved establishing a Department of Home Affairs. This department is to be a central policy agency, providing coordinated strategy and policy leadership for Australia’s national and transport security, federal law enforcement, criminal justice, cyber security, customs, border, immigration, […]

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) has issued notice to importers of plant, animal and biological goods and customs brokers, that the Goods Determinations under subsection 174(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015 are currently being amended. The majority of changes will apply from 21 December 2017. (The exception is conditions applying to fresh […]

Danish shipping giant Maersk Line had announced last month that it was going through motions with authorities from the relevant geographies on clearing the takeover of Hamburg Süd. The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) in China approved the deal on November 8, and it cleared its final hurdle after Brazilian regulators approved the acquisition without any […]

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (BIBP) Peter Dutton, and Minister of China Customs Yu Guangzhou, this week signed a MRA between Australia and the People’s Republic of China at Parliament House. The signing of the MRA enables the DIBP and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) to […]

At a meeting in Abu Dhabi last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for aviation security to be further strengthened by addressing four key areas;     (1) Closer government-to-government cooperation to eliminate the long-term challenges of extraterritorial measures,     (2) The universal application of global standards,     (3) Better information-sharing among governments and […]

There has been much discussion among logistics industry groups recently about the increased charges being levied by Australian stevedoring companies. Here we present a brief excerpt from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) ‘Container Stevedoring Monitoring Report 2016-17,’ just released on 1st November 2017. It is usually the case that such fees get passed […]

Australia and Peru have signed a free trade pact worth hundreds of millions of dollars for Australian farmers and businesses, expected to deliver jobs and an extra $13.5 million to sugar cane farmers. Under the agreement, 99% of tariffs that Australians exporters face will be eliminated. The Prime Minister, who is in Vietnam for Asia-Pacific […]

Four Australian men have been charged with attempting to import more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine (ice) and 500 kilograms of cocaine. Investigators said the ice, worth more than $50 million, was found in Mexico and was supposed to be transported to Australia by shipping container on 14th September, with an ETA in Sydney on […]

Xi Jinping is second only to Donald Trump in global power, and he has just told us what he thinks will be his country’s future. The title of his 3½ hour speech to the 19th congress of the Communist Party of China was: “To secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in […]