Following our earlier member notice calling for industry feedback on the NSW Government's draft reforms, Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) have recently lodged the attached two comprehensive submissions in response to the Ports and Maritime Administration Amendment (Freight Reform) Regulation 2025 and the Draft Port Botany Landside Operations Mandatory Standards and Performance Benchmarks.

These submissions reflect the extensive feedback received from FTA/APSA members, and highlight the operational realities and cost pressures directly impacting industry at Port Botany.

Key Positions & Recommendations

Below is a snapshot of the major issues raised and the recommendations put forward on behalf of members.

Retain the Government's Regulatory Pricing Powers (Critical Priority)

FTA/APSA strongly oppose the proposed removal of the existing broad pricing power, which has provided essential deterrence against unreasonable landside charges — particularly Terminal Access Charges (TACs) and rising Empty Container Park (ECP) fees.

Key points:

TACs have increased by several hundred per cent since 2016.
ECP Notification Fees continue to proliferate without transparency.
Removing pricing powers at this moment would send a detrimental signal to the market.

Recommendation: Retain the pricing power in full and develop a future mandatory code with oversight of TAC and ECP fee structures.

Strengthen (Not Dilute) PBLIS Enforceability

The draft PBLIS Standards introduce softer language such as "reasonable steps" and "best endeavours," weakening enforceability that has underpinned a decade of improved performance.

Recommendation: Reinstate objective, measurable, enforceable obligations across:

truck turnaround times
slot release windows
queue management
VBS system uptime
yard density thresholds

Clarity and enforceability are essential for operational predictability.

Include Empty Container Parks (ECPs), Rail and Stack Runs in Future Regulation

Current proposals overlook three major sources of landside friction. Members consistently report:

ECP congestion and rising fees
inconsistent rail lift rates
poorly timed stack runs creating additional costs

Recommendation: Extend PBLIS-style reporting and performance obligations to ECPs, rail interfaces and stack run operations.

Support for Dangerous Goods, Environmental Transparency & Data Reforms

In the PAMA submission, FTA/APSA express strong support for reforms that modernise responsibilities, improve data flows and increase transparency of vessel environmental performance.

Key recommendations:

Progress national harmonisation of dangerous goods rules.
Ensure environmental reporting frameworks are standardised and commercially meaningful.
Embed compliance mechanisms for electronic data delivery across shipping lines, stevedores and ECPs.

Protect Landside Users From Market Power Imbalances

Both submissions emphasise that freight forwarders, customs brokers, importers, exporters and logistics providers have no commercial leverage to negotiate TACs, ECP fees or operational impacts of poor performance.

Recommendation: Strengthen transparency, cost justification and publishable performance measures across Port Botany's entire landside interface.

Next Steps

FTA/APSA will continue to engage closely with Transport for NSW as the reforms progress. These submissions position our sector clearly: modernisation is welcome — deregulation is not.

We thank all members who contributed operational insights that helped shape these submissions.

Tom Jensen - General Manager Freight Policy & Operations - FTA | APSA

FTA / APSA Submission in response to Proposed Changes to the Current PBLIS Mandatory Standards, and New Performance Benchmarks Mandatory Standards