News

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has announced an upcoming policy change. They are introducing a new pre-border treatment provider assurance scheme called AusTreat. AusTreat is a government-to-industry scheme that will replace the existing Offshore brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) Treatment Provider scheme and set the conditions for the regulation of pre-border biosecurity […]

When it comes to both cargo pallets and empty shipping containers, ever since the start of the Covid pandemic four years ago we have found ourselves reporting variously on their shortage, oversupply or – more commonly – being situated in the wrong location to where they are needed. The latter case became most apparent as […]

While there has been focus on the number of shipping containers being caught up on the other side of the world due to the crisis around the Red Sea and Suez Canal, the situation is certainly not helping the ongoing shortage of wooden pallets. Other geopolitical tensions such as the war in Ukraine and disputes […]

In November, the government released a very important document for Australia’s maritime security. The final report of the Strategic Fleet taskforce was handed to government in June, with a public version along with the government response now online. The taskforce was established as part of a Labor election commitment, with the mission of advising government […]

A report published this week concludes that the shipping industry is an ‘easy target’ for cyber attacks while another survey shows that 30% of global ports are ‘unprepared’ for the IMO’s MSW mandate to move from paper to digital documents by 2024. A conference held by the WCO, however, demonstrated that Customs administrations have a […]

Global events over the last three years have changed the face of our industry. One of the interesting outcomes is a change in the demand for new types of shipping containers. The past year has seen a new 48ft folding flatrack designed for China’s burgeoning car export trades, while China Rail Group has started phasing […]

The Just-in-Time (JIT) concept was a novel innovation for importers when Colless Young started operations in the early 1980s, and we worked closely with those clients who embraced it, to smooth out any hiccups in the system. With the arrival of the pandemic, however, came snags that are now lumped under the heading of ‘supply […]

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has issued two Australian Customs Notices for the import of goods under military force agreements. Notice 2023/36 covers the general exemption from Import Charges under Forces Agreements, while Notice 2023/37 covers a specific reciprocal agreement with Japanese Forces for a range of goods imported by both members of the military […]

‘Directed energy weapons’ are on the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) wishlist –  the military wants to build a ‘laser that can stop a tank’. However, strict procedures remain in place to ensure that only those with a lawful need to import electromagnetic (EM) weapons and their parts into Australia are able to do so, provided […]

The use of “Smart containers” has skyrocketed in recent years – a trend that really took hold with the supply chain disruptions that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. Tracking the location of shipping containers around the world has become necessary, desirable – and now affordable – for shippers, vessel operators and box leasing companies. The container […]