The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service released the findings of its second Time Release Study (TRS) on December 10.
The study measures and reports the time taken by customs authorities to release imported cargo.
Customs and Border Protection's Chief Executive Officer Mr Michael Carmody said that it was pleasing to see improvements in 2008 which he attributed largely to the efforts of the industry working to improve the timeliness of cargo reporting and declaration.
"The TRS 2008 found the average elapsed time from arrival to release for sea cargo is approximately 14.5 hours, an improvement of 16 hours from the 2007 measurement," said Mr Carmody.
"The solid TRS results for 2008 confirm the relationship between early reporting of import cargo and its early risk assessment and release by Customs and Border Protection.
"This highlights the partnership between Customs and Border Protection and the industry. That partnership helps ensure efficient border clearance which in turn contributes to a more efficient import supply chain for Australia."
The TRS is a World Customs Organisation-endorsed method for measuring the time taken by customs authorities to release imported cargo and is recognised as a means to identify bottlenecks and improve performance in import processes.
Regular time release studies will continue to be conducted to monitor Customs and Border Protection's performance.
