Twenty Years Since COMPILE

The Australian Border Force (ABF) hosted a celebration in Canberra yesterday marking 20 years since the implementation of the Integrated Cargo System (ICS). Over the years, the ICS has welcomed and farewelled many people who have stewarded the system throughout its journey. It was an honour to join industry and government colleagues to commemorate that journey, contribute to the discussion, and share stories with those who have been part of it. The event featured presentations from Stephanie Foster PSM, Secretary of Home Affairs, and Matthew Hay, Chief Information Officer ABF, who took attendees down memory lane while also providing insights into future developments that will ensure the ICS remains a stable and reliable platform for years to come.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ICS In 1996, the Australian Customs Service (Customs) established a major IT initiative known as the Cargo Management Re-engineering (CMR) project, aimed at improving cargo management processes. The scope of CMR included enhancements to import and export processing, improved targeting of high-risk cargo, and greater processing efficiency for industry.   In 1998, development of the CMR applications commenced under Customs' existing information technology outsourcing arrangements. Eight years later, on 6 October 2004, the ICS went live for exports, replacing the legacy EXIT system. Twelve months later, on 12 October 2005, ICS Imports went live, delivering further targeting and efficiency enhancements and replacing the Sea Cargo Automation (SCA), EDIFICE, and COMPILE systems.   Fast-forward to 2025, the Department has purchased a new z17 mainframe and is actively exploring modernisation options to improve end-to-end resilience for cargo processing. Since its release, the ICS has continued to evolve through enhancements and changes to support improving cargo management practices and legislative requirements.   THE DECOMMISSIONING OF COMPILE Fittingly, today (3 February 2026) marks the 20-year anniversary of COMPILE being decommissioned. While the imports phase of the ICS was implemented months earlier, COMPILE continued to operate in parallel during the transition period, providing continuity while necessary system enhancements were completed. On 3 February 2006, the Tradegate COMPILE network contract expired, formally bringing that chapter to a close.

IMAGE CREDIT: Thank you to David Katte (Seaway) for taking the initiative to secure and share this screen shot on 3 February 2006.

FURTHER COMMENTARY   For those interested in a deeper dive, I covered this journey in my Daily Cargo News article last year, "From Chaos to Continuity" – refer HERE Paul Zalai - Director FTA | Secretariat APSA