9 January 2013

Who does this notice affect?

Those involved in the importation of containerised sea cargo.

What is changing?

From Friday 1 February 2013, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) will be implementing process improvements to the random inspection function for imported containerised sea cargo — currently known as the Import Clearance Effectiveness (ICE) Program. From the start of February, the redeveloped function will be known as the Cargo Compliance Verification (CCV) Program.

The first phase of the redevelopment will involve:

• improving the randomisation of consignment selection
• better aligning CCV inspection targets to the volume of imports arriving at Australian ports, without significant change to the overall number of inspections undertaken
• strengthening procedural consistency by introducing a requirement that consignments selected for inspection are held at the agreed location with seals intact.

CCV inspections verify that imported containerised sea cargo meets Australia's biosecurity requirements, and are used by DAFF to monitor biosecurity risk. These inspections are also valuable opportunities to discuss our procedures and requirements with importers and agents, particularly those who have had limited interaction with DAFF.

Further process improvements to the function will occur during 2012-13. DAFF will inform industry stakeholders in advance of all changes.

How this will affect you

We recognise that your consignment would not usually have been inspected by us when it is selected for CCV and we will continue to work closely with you to minimise any disruption the inspection may cause.

No inspection fees or charges will be applied for consignments that comply with biosecurity requirements. Standard document processing fees will still apply, as they usually do.

We also seek to conduct CCV inspections at the importer's premises, or a premises nominated by the importer, at a mutually convenient time.

DAFF will alert importers or their agents when a consignment has been selected for CCV inspection. A Quarantine Direction will be provided through our entry management system, AIMS, providing detailed instructions on what needs to happen next.

When your consignment is selected you can help minimise delays by ensuring:

• all containers are held at the agreed location with seals intact until a biosecurity officer is present to conduct the inspection
• your staff are available to fully unpack the consignment within the agreed inspection time
• all relevant documentation is available at the inspection, including documentation that specifies the commodities listed on the Full Import Declaration
• the work environment is safe for our biosecurity officers and your staff.

For consignments containing imported foods, importers and their agents should be aware that inspection and testing processes required under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) will still apply after the CCV inspection.

Further information

Further information please contact your local Regional Office or Compliance Analysis and Review Program staff.

More information on biosecurity operational improvements is available on the DAFF website.