The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service has conducted a study in which it measured the time taken by Customs authorities to release imported cargo.
The department has now released its findings from its first time release study (TRS), which is recognised as a means to identify bottlenecks and improve performance in import processes. The study found that the average elapsed time from arrival to release for sea cargo is 1.3 days. For air cargo, the interval is 0.3 days.
Chief Executive Officer Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Michael Carmody said the results of the study compare favourably with recent TRS measurements in other economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The TRS results indicate that Australian Customs and Border Protection's processes are not a significant impediment to import trade. Rather, factors such as the relative efficiency of business to business communications and the arrangement of inland transport appear to be greater influences on the timing of cargo delivery.
"This was confirmed by industry at the Customs National Consultative Committee (CNCC) meeting last year."
At the same time the study also identified opportunities for further improvement in trade facilitation which Customs and Border Protection will pursue together with industry and its partner agencies.
Mr Carmody said that regular time release studies will now be conducted to monitor Customs and Border Protection's performance.
