OUTPUT 2

The facilitation of the legitimate movement of people across the border, while identifying illegal movements

This output covers processing of passengers, crew and craft arriving and departing Australia by sea or air, including the identification of persons of interest, consistent with immigration, health, family law and other law enforcement and national security requirements. Also covered is aerial and marine surveillance/response for specific operations related to illegal movement of people across the border.

Details of interceptions of illicit drugs and other illegal goods from international passengers are in Output 1. Details of aerial and marine surveillance/response for specific operations related to illegal movement of people across the border are included in Output 3.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT:

Figure 17: Performance Against Targets set in the 1999-2000 PBS - Output 2

Quantity/Quality Performance Measures			Target*	Actual
Quality
Proportion of arriving international air passengers processed			95%	96.90%
through the Entry Control Point within 30 minutes
Percentage of passengers processed via Advance Passenger		Arriving	30%	33.6%
Processing/ Advance Passenger Clearance		Departing	7%	6.5%
Average number of seconds per arriving passenger at the Entry Control Point			42 seconds	42 seconds
Number of air passenger referrals to Immigration and Health		Immigration	**	203 959^
		Health	**	3 615
Number of suspected unlawful non-citizens (SUNCs) intercepted		Non-crew	**	Refer to
		Crew	**	Output 3
Quantity
Number of international passengers		Arriving	8 470 000	8 386 404
		Departing	8 330 000	8 278 215
Number of international crew (arrivals plus departures)			1 028 000	1 057 191
Price			$64.8m	$65.2m

^* Targets may be performance targets, service level targets or workload estimates.
^** Performance targets cannot be estimated.
^{^} Introduction of PACE occurred progressively during July-Sept 1999 resulting in an incomplete data set, an average monthly rate for Oct 1999-June 2000 was substituted for July 1999-Sept 1999 to estimate a national annual total.

Output Pricing Review

The Output Pricing Review showed that Customs delivers more complex and clearly more effective border control for air passengers than other benchmarking partners. These controls are relatively expensive but are consistent with current Government requirements.

Two independent studies examined in the review found that passengers consider Customs to be `world class' in terms of passenger facilitation. In view of Customs demonstrated ability to detect illegal activity, the review determined that Customs successfully balances its facilitation and enforcement roles.

Facilitation Rates

A total of 16.5m international air passengers (15.4m in 1998-1999) were processed during the year. This is an increase of 7.1 per cent in international passengers since 1998-1999. Of the 8.3m arriving international air passengers, 96.9 per cent were processed through the entry control point within 30 minutes.

Figure 18: Proportion of International Air Passengers Processed within 30 minutes of Arrival, Airport Distribution (per cent)

Figure 18 illustrates the percentage of incoming international arrivals cleared through the Entry Control Point (ECP) within 30 minutes. The formula used assumes a 10 minute delay between aircraft arrival and the time a passenger arrives at the ECP queue. The formula used was agreed with Government, together with a standard to clear 95 per cent of passengers within 30 minutes of arrival.
 

Customs ability to maintain the facilitation standard while passenger numbers increased can be attributed to increased use of Advance Passenger Processing (see below), the introduction of the new Customs passenger processing system (PACE) and associated technological and procedural improvements.

Advance Passenger Processing

Advance Passenger Processing (APP) is a system that integrates Advance Passenger Information (API) with the Electronic Travel Authority System (ETAS). APP allows airlines to verify the travel authority of passengers at check-in and send high integrity API to border agencies using the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) communication network. With APP, Customs and Immigration are able to offer high quality service delivery to passengers, airlines and industry.

Implementation of APP is negotiated with airlines as part of a package of measures included in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU conveys a clear understanding of Government expectations and objective standards of performance. The MOU is designed to create an environment of certainty and improved service delivery through an integrated, coordinated approach.

In addition to API being provided via the APP platform there are two airlines which use a slightly different system - Advance Passenger Clearance (APC). This provides the same level of data integrity to the border agencies and is also complemented by a passenger card that can be `swiped' to facilitate the arrival process.

Figure 19: Proportion of Air Passengers Utilising Advance Passenger Clearance and Advance Passenger Processing (per cent)

^* March quarter 1998-1999 figures are incomplete due to technical problems with the Travel Immigration Processing System (TRIPS) database.

The overall number of APC/APP passengers increased slightly. During the June 2000 quarter APC/APP represented 38.3 per cent of all arriving international air passengers compared to 30.4 per cent in the June 1999 quarter.

Expansion of APP was vigorously pursued to assist the clearance of passengers for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Qantas Airlines finalised their MOU in June 1999 to transfer from APC to APP. Other airlines expected to finalise their negotiations during 2000-2001 are Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Thai International Airways, and Singapore Airlines.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Exercise Crocodile 99

Between September and November 1999 a contingent of several thousand US Navy, Marines and Air Force personnel together with members of the Australian Defence Force participated in a training exercise, around Shoalwater Bay in Queensland.

Customs drew on its expertise, gained from involvement in previous similar military operations, and took an active part in advance planning. A video was produced in consultation with the AQIS to highlight areas specific to military exercises and provide awareness among the troops. The level of cooperation among all parties ensured that the processing of US Forces into and out of Australia was conducted in a professional and efficient manner.

Dynamic Signage

One of the many initiatives developed by Customs at Australia's international airports was the installation of dynamic signage at Melbourne, Cairns and Coolangatta Airports. Dynamic signage directs passenger flow and facilitates passenger queuing and streaming.

Tourism Awareness Video

The Department of Industry Science and Resources (DISR) and Customs jointly managed and funded the production of a tourism awareness training video for
Customs officers working at Australia's international airports. The video's main objective is to remind Customs officers that, while their primary responsibility is to ensure the integrity of Australia's borders, they also have an important role to play in enhancing Australia's image to tourists. The video presented an ideal opportunity to enhance cross-cultural awareness and will be integrated into training programs being delivered during the lead up to the Olympics, and beyond.

Shift Reviews

During the year, working patterns were reviewed at Brisbane and Melbourne airports. New shift arrangements were introduced in Melbourne during March 1999 and Brisbane is expected to implement new roster patterns in August 2000.The arrangements aim to:

• better align resource allocations to operational demands;
• improve efficiency and flexibility to the benefit of Customs and employees;
• deliver a safe and healthy work environment; and
• maximise the relationship and communication between employees and management.

PACE

Phase one of the Passenger Analysis Clearance and Evaluation (PACE) system was successfully implemented in all major airports by the end of September 1999 which was approximately 12 months behind original schedule. The delay was due to requirements clarifications and resolution of technical issues. There was no significant impact on passenger processing, as the existing system, Passenger Automatic Selection System (PASS), remained available.

PACE extended system availability and reliability at airports and is enabling Customs to better measure performance. The system attracted high user acceptance from Customs officers and external users and no problems were experienced during the Y2K transition. Further development work is scheduled to be implemented by the
end of 2000-2001.

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