Australian Customs Service
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Overview of Customs

Customs assists in management of the security and integrity of Australia’s borders. It works closely with other government and international agencies, in particular the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Department of Transport and Regional Services and the Australian Defence Force, to detect and deter unlawful movement of goods and people across the Australian border.

The agency is a national organisation employing over 5000 people around Australia and overseas. It has a fleet of eight ocean-going patrol vessels and operates Coastwatch civil maritime surveillance and response. Protecting the Australian community through the interception of illegal drugs and firearms is a high priority and sophisticated techniques are used to target high-risk aircraft, vessels, cargo, postal items and travellers. These include intelligence analysis, computer-based analysis, detector dogs, container x-ray and various other technologies.

Information on Customs organisational structure under Enabling Outputs .

Vision and roles

The vision of Customs is to be a world leader in customs administration by delivering high-quality service to the community, industry and commerce.

Customs three principal roles are to:

Minister and portfolio

Customs has been responsible to the Minister for Justice and Customs since 21 October 1998 and is an agency within the Attorney-General’s portfolio. Senator the Hon Chris Ellison was appointed Minister for Justice and Customs on 30 January 2001.

Authority and power

Customs derives its authority from the Australian Constitution, which provides for the levying of customs duties and for laws concerning trade and commerce. Customs was established in its present form on 10 June 1985 by sub-section 4(1) of the Customs Administration Act 1985.

The constitutional authority of Customs is given legislative expression through the Customs Act and related legislation. Customs also administers legislation on behalf of other government agencies, especially for the movement of goods and people across the Australian border.

Statutory powers of the CEO of Customs

The Customs Administration Act 1985 provides for the establishment of Customs and for the appointment of a CEO who, under the Minister, controls Customs. The CEO is appointed by the Governor General for a specified period of not more than five years but is eligible for reappointment.

Certain statutory functions and powers are vested in the Minister but most decisions made under Customs legislation are the responsibility of the CEO of Customs. The CEO may, by signed instrument, delegate to an officer of Customs all or any of the functions and powers of the CEO. Where a function or power is delegated and exercised, the CEO is taken to have personally performed or exercised the function or power.

Commonwealth legislation under which Customs has powers

Primary legislation under which Customs has powers includes:

Other legislation under which Customs exercises powers includes:

Other legislation under which Customs collects charges and revenue includes:

Administrative Acts that Customs complies with include:

These lists are not exhaustive and do not include all delegated legislation, such as regulations.

Significant changes in the functions or services of Customs

The Joint Offshore Protection Command brings together the resources and expertise of both Customs and the Australian Defence Force to create a single maritime surveillance and response system. The command reports to the CEO of Customs and the Chief of the Defence Force. Its headquarters, in Canberra, opened in March.

Outcome and Output structure

Figure 2. 2004–05 Outcome and Output framework

Figure 2. 2004–05 Outcome and Output framework

The Outcome is the social and economic result of Customs Outputs. Outputs are the services Customs delivers to government and the community.

Corporate priorities 2004–05

To help meet its Outcome, Customs developed and acted on a number of corporate priorities. The relationship between these Corporate Priorities, organisational initiatives in 2004–05 and Customs Outputs is set out below.   

Corporate Priorities

Initiative detailed in performance reporting

Output

Counter terrorism/ Improved Quarantine Intervention

  • maintain strong focus on physical and electronic screening of cargo, vessels and passengers for criminal and other threats
  • enhance organisational security measures
  • implement systems and procedures that improve national security but minimise disruption to legitimate activity, where possible.
 First port boarding Output 1
Ammonium nitrate regulations Output 1
Relevant technology initiatives (including container examination facilities, detector dogs, radiation and chemical detectors, Neutron Scanner) Output 1
Pre-arrival screening of passengers Output 2
Advance passenger processing Output 2
Joint Offshore Protection Command Output 3

Border Protection

  • detect prohibited and restricted goods
  • regulate people movements across the border
  • maximise the detection of illicit drugsand precursor chemicals
  • contribute to the improved protection of Australia’s natural marine resources and primary industry.
 Drug research, National drug strategy Output 1
Cooperation with other agencies Output 1
Pre-arrival screening of passengers Output 2
Advance passenger processing Output 2
Aerial surveillance coverage Output 3
National Marine Unit Output 3
Australian Maritime Identification System Output 3
Maritime surveillance contracts Output 3
Operation Clearwater Output 3
Southern ocean maritime patrol and response Output 3

Relevant technology initiatives

Outputs 1, 2 and 3

International Cooperation

  • participate in negotiation and implementation of trade agreements
  • promote Australian interests and security through cooperative relationships with relevant overseas Customs administrations and other bodies.
 Proliferation security initiative Output 1
Free Trade Agreements Output 4
Supply chain security Output 4
Antidumping Output 5

WCO, WTO, APEC, OCO and capacity building

Enabling Outputs

Innovation and Technology

  • deliver, implement and manage the transition to the systems that support the CMR Project
  • continuously improve revenue collection and border protection, including methods to detect nuclear, chemical, radiological and biological weapons, through better technology.
 Cargo Management Reengineering Outputs 1 and 4
Container Examination Facilities Output 1
Detector dog program Output 1
Radiation detectors Output 1
Chemical detectors Output 1
Closed circuit television Output 1
Computer forensics Output 1
Neutron scanner Output 1
SmartGate Output 2
Satellite surveillance Output 3
High frequency surface wave radar/unmanned aerial vehicle Output 3

Secure communication

Output 3

Revenue Collection

  • Efficient and effective administration of Customs duty, indirect taxes and industry schemes.
 Cargo reporting strategy Output 1
Passenger Movement Charge Output 2
Passenger and crew duty free concessions Output 4
Tariff, rules of origin and valuation Output 4

Antidumping

Output 5

Enhance Organisational Performance and Capability

  • Enhance organisational performance and capability through people, finance, information and communication technology and information management.
 Improved licensing processes Output 1
Improving airport flow Output 2
Corporate governance (Including, risk management, business continuity, performance analysis and the Annual Report) Enabling Outputs
Information and information technology management Enabling Outputs

Training and development

Enabling Outputs

Anticipated results

Results Customs aimed to achieve in 2004–05:

Workforce characteristics

Customs strives to have employees who exhibit values and characteristics that include:

Customs teams – leading Customs

The Senior Executive Service

The Senior Executive Service and Regional Director team at the conference in May 2005, left to right, front to back: Tim Chapman, John Eldridge, Peter Naylor, Graeme Charlwood, Phil Burns, Geoff Johannes, Jaci Fisher, Jamie Macgregor, Sue Pitman, Jane Bailey, Christine Marsden-Smedley, Jenny Peachey, Andrew Rice, Lionel Woodward, Murray Harrison, John Marks, Virginia Lynch, Brian Hurrell, Tom Marshall, Kirsten Whitehouse, Russ Crane, Peter Thomson, Marion Grant, Jeff Buckpitt, Richard Janeczko, Jo Hein, John Valastro, Roxanne Kelley, Michelle Kinnane, Paul O’Connor, John Jeffery, Gayle Brown, Matthew Corkhill, David Collins, Jenny Eutick, Annwyn Godwin, Jon Brocklehurst, Gail Batman, Geoff Lanham and Philomena Carnell.

Within Customs, it is the Senior Executive Service and Regional Directors who lead the organisation.

At a meeting of this group in May, the Chief Executive Officer, Lionel Woodward, reflected on the role of the Senior Executive Service since he had joined Customs in 1994.

“The senior executive management team is a group of skilled, experienced and dedicated people with a flair for innovation and a drive to implement change quickly and well.

The team is now a balance of men and women. Some 40 per cent of the Senior Executive Service team are women.

We have consciously sought to bring in demonstrated experience from outside and we have a team where less than half have spent more than five years in Customs.

The quality of the people is what we aim for and a team that is responsive to change but has sufficient corporate knowledge to ensure mistakes are not repeated”.

 

 

 

 

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