Pre-arrival requirements

Customs Form 13 - Ship Pre-Arrival Report

Under Section 64 of the Customs Act 1901, the operator (shipping line or master) of a ship is required to report to Customs the impending arrival of the ship a minimum of ninety-six (96) hours prior to the vessels estimated arrival. This is to be notified using the Customs Form 13 - 'Ship Pre-Arrival Report'. Customs requires this information to complete an appropriate risk assessment of all vessels arriving in Australia. This information is also passed to Customs partner agencies to allow for further risk assessment and compliance with other Commonwealth requirements.

If the journey, from a place outside Australia, is likely to take less than ninety-six (96) hours, then the below time-able is to be used, based on the estimated steaming time from the previous foreign port.

At this time the ship must also report its arrival through the Customs Integrated Cargo System (ICS). For further ICS information refer to the Customs website http://www.customs.gov.au/.

In relation to this reporting requirement, the following should be noted:

• This report is mandatory for all first port vessels (i.e. vessels arriving in Australia direct from an overseas port/place).
• Customs will not normally require this report to be made at subsequent (i.e. intermediate) ports in Australia. However, this may be required from time to time at the discretion of the local Customs office.
• This report is to be made to the local Customs office at the port where the vessel intends to arrive and may be provided: by hand, by fax or by e-mail. For relevant Customs contact details please see your local Customs office.
• Under S.64ACE of the Act a report is only taken to have been communicated to Customs when it is received by Customs.
• Penalty provisions do apply for failure to comply with the reporting requirement under S.64 of the Act.

Ship's agents can assist Customs boarding officers to attend a vessel promptly, by keeping their local Customs office advised of changes to the vessels estimated arrival time.

From 1 July 2007, Customs will introduce a revised Customs Form 13 - 'Ship Pre-Arrival Report'. The revised form includes the following changes:

• Now only 1 Page.
• Includes the questions:   Estimated date of departure; Net Tonnage; Gross Tonnage
• Parts 4 & 5 have been removed.

Customs Form 3B - Crew Report

Customs Form 3B - excel version

Under Section 64ACB of the Customs Act 1901, the operator (shipping line or master) of a ship must communicate to Customs a report of all crew who will be on board the ship at the time of its arrival at port. This report is required a minimum of ninety-six (96) hours prior to arrival at the port, or where the journey is expected to take less then ninety-six (96) hours then the same time-table as used for vessel reporting applies (see above).  This is to be notified using the approved Customs Form 3B - 'Crew Report'. Customs requires this information to complete an appropriate risk assessment of all vessels arriving in Australia. This information is also passed to Customs partner agencies to allow for further risk assessment and compliance with other Commonwealth requirements.

Where Customs conduct their pre-arrival checks and determine that there are reported crew that do not appear to have an appropriate visa, this information will be reported back to the ship's agent.  This information will also be forwarded to DIAC for their consideration.  As crew would normally still be outside Australia at this stage, the opportunity exists for agents to re-check crew bio-data if they believe the crew do in fact have visas or possibly arrange for a visa application to be made.  Where bio-data may be found to have been in error the Form 3B can be resubmitted to Customs with corrected data.

In relation to this reporting requirement, the following should be noted:

• This report is mandatory for all first port vessels (i.e. vessels arriving in Australia direct from an overseas port/place).
• Customs will not normally require this report to be made at subsequent (i.e. intermediate) ports in Australia. However, this may be required from time to time at the discretion of the local Customs office.
• This report is to be made to the local Customs office at the port where the vessel intends to arrive and may be provided: by hand, by fax or by e-mail. However, the local Customs office will require a signed original form after the vessel has arrived.  For relevant Customs contact details please see your local Customs office.
• Under S.64ACE of the Act a report is only taken to have been communicated to Customs when it is received by Customs.
• Penalty provisions do apply for failure to comply with the reporting requirement under S.64ACD of the Act.

From 1 July 2007, Customs will introduce a revised Form 3B - 'Crew Report'.  The revised form includes the following changes:

• All crew bio data (names, DOB, etc) must be provided as per the bio data contained in the crewmembers' passports.  Incorrect data will result in Customs being unable to correctly determine the lawful status of crew arriving on board the vessel (i.e. do they hold a valid visa or not?) which may result in delays during Customs boarding and Immigration Clearance.
• Includes the question: "Australian Maritime Crew Visa holder? Yes/No". . This change was requested by a number of ships agents during the MCV Industry Seminars, and is an opportunity for the master to provide to Customs (and the ship's agent) an indication of whether or not the crew are believed to hold an Australian Maritime Crew Visa.
• The requirement to report the Seaman's Identity Document details has been removed.

Customs Form 2A & 2B - Passenger Report

Under Section 64ACA of the Customs Act 1901, the operator (shipping line or master) of a ship must communicate to Customs a report of all passengers who will be on board the ship at the time of its arrival at port. This report is required a minimum of ninety-six (96) hours prior to arrival at the port, or where the journey is expected to take less then ninety-six (96) hours then the same time-table as used for vessel reporting applies (see above).  This is to be notified using two approved Customs Forms 2A - 'Passenger Report (Face Sheet)' and 2B - 'Passenger Report'. Customs requires this information to complete an appropriate risk assessment of all vessels arriving in Australia.  This information is also passed to Customs partner agencies to allow for further risk assessment and compliance with other Commonwealth requirements.

In relation to this reporting requirement, the following should be noted:

• This report is mandatory for all first port vessels (i.e. vessels arriving in Australia direct from an overseas port/place).  If the vessel has no passengers a 'Nil' report is not required.
• Customs will not normally require this report to be made at subsequent (i.e. intermediate) ports in Australia.  However, this may be required from time to time at the discretion of the local Customs office.
• This report is to be made to the local Customs office at the port where the vessel intends to arrive and may be provided: by hand, by fax or by e-mail. However, the local Customs office will require a signed original form after the vessel has arrived.  For relevant Customs contact details please see your local Customs office.
• Under S.64ACE of the Act, a report is only taken to have been communicated to Customs when it is received by Customs.
• Penalty provisions do apply for failure to comply with the reporting requirement under S.64ACD of the Act.

The Form 2A & 2B will remain unchanged and current forms will continue to apply from 1 July 2007.