12 December 2024
Who does this notice affect?
Stakeholders including importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders and biosecurity industry participants (approved arrangement and compliance agreement holders).
What has changed?
The department has become aware of circumstances where a single approved arrangement or compliance agreement holder becomes a multiple arrangement holder, in the same financial year, but only pays the annual charge that applies to hold a single arrangement.
Billing for the annual charge is prospective with each holder of a single approved arrangement invoiced at the beginning of the financial year. If the holder subsequently applies and is approved to hold more than one approved arrangement within the same financial year, they will have the benefit of holding multiple approved arrangements while only having paid the annual charge for a single approved arrangement.
This does not account for the additional work undertaken by the department where a single arrangement or compliance agreement holder moves to having multiple arrangements in the same financial year.
The department is proposing to address this situation by introducing a one-off charge that would apply when an approved arrangement or compliance agreement holder’s status changes from single to multiple in the same financial year.
How would the charge be applied?
The one-off ‘upgrade’ charge would apply if more arrangements in addition to the first are approved for the same entity in the same financial year.
How will the charge be calculated?
The charge will be calculated based on:
- the type of approved arrangement an entity already holds or enters into first and when this was approved (before or after January in a financial year)
- when an entity enters into an additional arrangement (before or after January in a financial year) and the type of new arrangement entered into (class 19 or other class).
The proposed new charge is the difference between the annual charge for the first arrangement and the annual charge for multiple arrangements.
For example, if an entity is covered by a single approved arrangement, then applies for and is approved to hold at least one further approved arrangement or compliance agreement before 1 January in the same financial year a full year ‘upgrade’ charge would apply.
Using 1 July 2024 rates this charge would be calculated as follows:
| Calculation method | 1 July 2024 annual charge amounts | Upgrade amount |
|---|---|---|
| Difference between the single annual charge and the multiple annual charge | $2790 to $3238 Single to multiple | $448 |
When will this proposed change happen?
Pending government approval of the relevant legislative amendments, the implementation of the new charge is proposed to commence on 1 July 2025.
More information will be provided as the work progresses.
Further information
Enquiries can be directed to the BioCRIS@aff.gov.au.