20 March 2025
Who does this notice affect?
All importers and customs brokers who lodge imported cargo eligible under the Highly Compliant Importer Project (HCIP).
Background
The highly compliant importer project (HCIP), implemented in July 2018, is an initiative to reduce intervention for compliant importers and ensure departmental resources are focused on high-risk priorities. The following import industry advice notices have been published in relation to the project:
Under the HCIP importers that have established a 100% compliance history through repeated physical inspection over an extended period of time for particular commodities, will be identified during entry processing and receive reduced intervention.
Importers identified as ‘highly compliant’ may be excluded from referral to the department when lodging full import declarations for imported cargo consignments and the relevant community protection profile question will not appear during lodgement.
What has changed?
From 26 March 2025, the HCIP profile settings preventing goods from being referred to the Agriculture Import Management System (AIMS) will be switched off. Goods previously eligible for the HCIP will now be subject to the standard community protection profile questions; and goods will be referred into AIMS when biosecurity concerns have been identified.
Goods under tariff groups 5101, 5102, 5103 (wool, fine or coarse animal hair) eligible for reduced inspection intervention under HCIP profiles are exempt from these changes.
Reason for the changes
The HCIP initiative was designed as a temporary measure until permanent IT capabilities were built. Whilst the ICS profile solution has been effective, a more sophisticated systems solution in AIMS was necessary for sustainability and expansion of the scheme. As a result, the department introduced the Highly Compliant Importer (HCI) scheme in AIMS in November 2022. Some goods that were on the HCIP are now eligible for the HCI scheme.
The department will continue to expand the HCI scheme and reward highly compliant importers by adding additional commodities in future system releases.
Impacts
Importers who were eligible under the HCIP should notice nil to minimal increases in AIMS referrals. The majority of eligible HCIP importers and commodities have now transitioned over to the HCI scheme in AIMS, as a result of tyres, machinery, and aircraft parts placed onto the scheme in August 2024.
Further information
For additional information please email AEPsupport@aff.gov.au