270-2023: Document Assessment Activities

18 December 2023

Who does this notice affect?

All clients who submit documentation to the department for import assessment via the Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS) or other departmental approved systems.

What has changed?

The department acknowledges that clients are currently experiencing delays in receiving their directions and advises that all efforts are being made to manage increased workloads in order to meet published service standards in the Client Service Charter while also effectively managing biosecurity and imported food risks.

What are we doing to manage workload demand?

The department has implemented a range of strategies to assist with the management of workload. These include:

• The recruitment, onboarding, and training of new biosecurity officers to assist in the management of workloads.
• The training of additional Imported Food Assessment officers continues to help address the increase in Imported Food LRNs.
• Continuation of industry requested overtime to process lodgements outside core business hours subject to resource availability.
• System enhancements to provide greater automation of services for Biosecurity and Imported Food consignments to speed up documentary assessment services and to reduce the need for client contact whilst still managing risks.
• On-going expansion of eligible Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS) commodities.
• On-going expansion of the commodity eligibility list for AA Class 19.2 automatic entry processing for commodities (AEPCOMM).

What will assist?

The department would like to advise clients of information that may assist in avoiding unnecessary delays in the clearance of goods:

Documentation

The ability to meet service standards continues to be significantly impacted by LRNs being lodged late and/or with inaccurate information. This diverts assessment resources which ultimately impacts the broader industry members.

As such, industry members can assist to ensure timely turnaround for themselves and broader members by:

• Ensuring that documents are lodged well in advance of arrival of the goods.
• Ensure that documents and other information are lodged completely and accurately and in line with the department’s minimum documentary requirements and import conditions.
• Do not provide unnecessary documents, as this can result in longer assessment times.
• Ensure any specific additional information is included in the “additional Information” field in COLS.
• Regardless of the expected assessment outcome, nominate a valid Approved Arrangement (AA) inspection location, preferably with the AA registration number and name, to avoid additional processing delays.
• Please do not repeatedly call or email the department checking on the status of a lodgement for document assessment – this unnecessarily compounds the delays.

Notification of Changed Import Conditions

To ensure consignment documentation meets current import conditions, BICON includes notification of changes information. There are two (2) ways in which these change notifications can be viewed being:

1. BICON Alerts and Changes
   
   Published notices or changes to import conditions can be viewed via the BICON Alerts & Changes page. This page can be bookmarked to your browser for quick reference.
     

1. Following a specific BICON case
   
   BICON includes the ability to follow a specific case to receive email notifications when there are changes made to this case.
   
   To follow a case, please refer to the task card ‘How do I follow a case?’. This task card also demonstrates how to stop following a case if you no longer wish to receive email notifications of changes to a case.
   
   Task cards are available from the Help menu in BICON which provide a printable, step-by-step reference to support complex or infrequently used functions within BICON.
     

Notification of Changed Imported Food Conditions

Imported Food Notices (IFNs) provide information on matters relating to changes to operational requirements in the monitoring of food imported into Australia. These notices are essential for stakeholders to keep abreast of issues relating to imported food requirements. The IFNs can be accessed via the Imported food notices page.

Automatic Entry Processing (AEP)

Automatic Entry Processing (AEP) is a function in the Agriculture Import Management System (AIMS). It allows accredited persons under the class 19 approved arrangements to identify and manage biosecurity risk. Under the class 19 approved arrangements, accredited persons can assess documentation and report information through the import declaration in the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) or third party software.

The use of AEP provides class 19 accredited persons with the following benefits:

• The ability to generate AIMS directions at the time of lodgement and outside of regular office hours; and
• Reduced costs associated with the assessment of import documentation.

The class 19 approved arrangements are:

• Class 19.1 non-commodity for containerised cargo clearance (NCCC) Allows an accredited person to assess documentation associated with containerised sea freight against the non-commodity import conditions.
• Class 19.2 automatic entry processing for commodities (AEPCOMM) Allows an accredited person to assess commodity import documentation associated with specific commodities in scope of the approved arrangement.

Biosecurity Portal

The department is improving the way we deliver our services to our industry clients. We have worked with industry to co-design our new digital service model and enable streamlined and simplified interactions with us online through the Biosecurity Portal (the Portal).

The Portal gives import clients the ability to make and manage inspection booking requests, view direction information and lodge Approved Arrangement Class 14.4 inspection outcomes 24/7 via an online system.

As the Portal develops, we’ll add more features that will help industry save time and money whilst modernising the biosecurity system for clients.

Planned features include access by Offshore Treatment Providers and Approved Arrangements to a range of digital services.

Further information will be made available in due course.

Further information

Please note the following approved Assessment contacts for queries relating to the documentary assessment of imported goods and cargo.

1. Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS) – please use the ‘Make an Enquiry’ function. Clients may choose from various enquiry types to assist in referring the enquiry to the most appropriate contact to respond.
2. Telephone – Please contact the department on 1800 900 090 and follow the correct options to reach the relevant section to assist with entry processing matters.