News

Ports Australia has released its inaugural State of Trade Report this week, which provides an unprecedented look at the critical role that Australian ports play in supporting our nation’s economy, workforce, and global trade. Ports Australia is the peak body representing the interests of the Australian port industry. It serves as a national voice and […]

The Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has issued Advice Notice 174-2024: “Methyl bromide fumigation methodology – Prepare now for 2025 update.” On 05 August 2024 DAFF published the updated Methyl Bromide Fumigation Methodology (version 3.0). The changes come after a comprehensive review period with a significant amount of feedback from stakeholders. The current […]

Australia’s reputation as an ideal destination for trade and investment was further strengthened this week with the release of a new report by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). The 2024 Why Australia Benchmark Report outlines Australia’s competitive advantages, drawing on key economic, financial, social and demographic data from respected sources. Follow this link […]

Australia’s leading institutional investors and fund managers gained a deeper understanding of investment opportunities on the Australian Government’s first outbound investment mission to Singapore, as part of the Southeast Asia Investment Deal Teams initiative. The delegation was led by Minister for Trade and Tourism Senator Don Farrell, and representatives from Austrade, the Department of Foreign […]

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 […]