Zalai appointed to the Customs Advisory Board

Friday, February 28, 2020

Following a meeting late last year with Michael Outram, Commissioner, Australian Border Force (ABF), I was privileged to receive formal correspondence on Friday 3 January 2020 inviting me to participate in a newly formed Customs Advisory Board.
L to R - Commissioner Outram and Paul Zalai (FTA / APSA)
The Board comprising the following ten industry leaders met in Canberra on Tuesday 25 February 2020 for its inaugural meeting.
  1. Mrs Dianne Tipping, Chair, Export Council of Australia
  2. Mr Geoff Culbert, Chief Executive Officer, Sydney Airport Corporation
  3. Ms Jennifer Westacott, AO, Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia
  4. Mr Joel Katz, Managing Director, Cruise Lines International Association
  5. The Hon Mr Mike Gallacher, Chief Executive Officer, Ports Australia
  6. Mr Paul Zalai, Director, Freight and Trade Alliance
  7. Mr Richard White, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, WiseTech Global
  8. Mr Shayne Elliott, Chief Executive Officer, ANZ
  9. Dr Stephanie Fahey, Chief Executive Officer, Austrade
  10. Mr Tino La Spina, Chief Executive Officer International, QANTAS

The purpose of the Board is to provide the Commissioner with expert, independent, balanced, timely and confidential advice on customs policy and operational issues.

A key focus for the Board will be providing advice in developing the ABF led customs and border modernisation agenda. This will include advising on designing and testing trade and travel modernisation initiatives.
The official ABF media release announcing the Board is available HERE
Paul Zalai -  Director and Co-Founder, FTA / Secretariat, APSA