International Freight Compliance Procedure

Nomenclature

Term	Definition
AAC	Accredited Air Cargo Agent — a business accredited under the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (Cth) to handle or make arrangements for the transport of cargo by air.
ABF	Australian Border Force — the operational enforcement arm of the Department of Home Affairs administering the Customs Act 1901 (Cth).
Authority to Deal	Authority granted by the ABF under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) (export declaration / export entry) that must exist before goods are loaded for export.
BICON	Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions database — the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry system that states whether goods may be imported and any conditions or permits required under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) s.174.
BMSB	Brown Marmorated Stink Bug — a biosecurity target pest subject to mandatory seasonal treatment measures for target goods shipped from target-risk countries between 1 September and 30 April.
DAFF	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — the Commonwealth biosecurity regulator administering the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth).
Designated Person / Entity	A person or entity named on the DFAT Consolidated List or otherwise subject to targeted financial sanctions under the Autonomous Sanctions regime or the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth).
DFAT Consolidated List	The list maintained by the Australian Sanctions Office (DFAT) of all persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions and travel bans; the screening criterion for both the autonomous and United Nations Security Council sanctions regimes.
DSGL	Defence and Strategic Goods List 2024 (Cth) — the legislative instrument listing controlled goods and technology, comprising Part 1 (Munitions List) and Part 2 (Dual-Use List).
DTCA	Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) — the Act controlling the supply, publication and brokering of DSGL goods and technology.
Dual-Use Goods	Goods and technology in Part 2 of the DSGL that have both civilian and military or proliferation applications.
Forwarder	A freight forwarder — an entity that arranges the carriage of goods for an importer or exporter. Under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s.240(1B) and the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth), a forwarder acting as agent can attract compliance obligations.
ISPM 15	International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 — the standard for treatment and marking of solid-wood packaging (pallets, crates, dunnage) used in international trade.
Munitions List	Part 1 of the DSGL — military goods and technology (including ML9 naval vessels and ML10 military aircraft).
RACA	Regulated Air Cargo Agent — a business regulated under the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (Cth) to examine and clear air cargo.
Sanctioned Supply / Service	A supply of sanctioned goods, or the provision of a sanctioned service, prohibited under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (Cth) regs 12–13 unless authorised by a DFAT sanctions permit.
Security Declaration	A declaration accompanying air cargo, required under the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 (Cth) reg 4.41D, stating the cargo’s security status and a general description of its contents.
VGM	Verified Gross Mass — the verified total weight of a packed container required under SOLAS Chapter VI Regulation 2. The VGM control is documented in OPS-PRO-003 (VGM and Container Weight Declaration Procedure).

Purpose

This procedure sets out the controls Westlink Logistics applies to ensure that international freight it arranges — by sea and by air, on both the import and the export leg — complies with the Australian trade-control laws that govern customs, sanctions, defence and strategic goods, biosecurity and air-cargo security.

Westlink operates as an asset-light multimodal project-logistics integrator. As a freight forwarder arranging carriage on behalf of importers and exporters, Westlink can attract compliance obligations in its own right — for example as a party causing or receiving the import or export of goods under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s.240(1B), as an agent of the importer under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth), and as a person who supplies or brokers DSGL goods or technology under the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth). Several of these obligations carry strict-liability or criminal penalties. This procedure exists to make the controls that discharge them repeatable and auditable.

Scope

This procedure applies to all international freight consignments arranged by Westlink, whether Westlink acts as forwarder, consolidator, agent or principal, and whether the goods move by sea or by air. It covers the import leg (goods entering Australia) and the export leg (goods leaving Australia), and applies to standard published-capability freight as well as to project and defence cargo.

In scope

• Sanctions screening of all parties to a consignment and of the carrying vessel or aircraft.

• Customs import and export declarations, valuation, origin and the engagement of a licensed customs broker.

• DSGL classification, defence-trade export and import permits, ITAR awareness and foreign-national technology-access controls.

• Biosecurity assessment at consignment acceptance — BICON, BMSB seasonal measures, ISPM-15 wood packaging and phytosanitary documentation.

• Air-cargo security declarations and the accuracy of cargo descriptions provided to the Commonwealth and to regulated air-cargo participants.

Out of scope

• Dangerous-goods-classified cargo (ADG Code, IMDG Code, IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations). Westlink does not accept or arrange the carriage of dangerous-goods-classified cargo. Any request to move such cargo is declined and escalated to the Operations Manager; this procedure does not provide a dangerous-goods pathway.

• Container Verified Gross Mass (VGM) determination, which is controlled by OPS-PRO-003 (VGM and Container Weight Declaration Procedure).

• Records retention periods, which are set in GOV-SCH-001 (Document Retention Schedule). This procedure identifies the records to be kept; GOV-SCH-001 sets how long they are retained.

Roles and Responsibilities

Trade-control compliance is a shared responsibility. The following roles carry specific accountabilities under this procedure. Where a single person holds more than one role, the separation of the classification decision from the screening decision must still be maintained in the record.

Role	Responsibility
Operations Manager (Owner)	Owns this procedure; final escalation point for declined, held or ambiguous consignments; approves engagement of licensed customs brokers and biosecurity approved-arrangement providers; chairs the Internal Compliance Programme review.
Trade Compliance Officer	Performs or oversees sanctions screening, DSGL classification and biosecurity assessment; maintains the permit, classification and brokering registers; holds the per-consignment compliance record.
Freight Operations staff	Initiate consignment screening at booking; do not release, load or tender a consignment until the applicable gates in this procedure are cleared; refer matches and uncertainties to the Trade Compliance Officer.
Licensed Customs Broker (engaged)	Lodges import and export declarations on Westlink’s behalf where Westlink is not itself licensed; provides classification and valuation advice.
CEO	Approves this procedure; receives escalations involving sanctions matches, suspected criminal-liability exposure, or refusal of high-value project or defence cargo.

All staff involved in defence-cargo acceptance, customs broker engagement, international freight operations and overseas communications must complete trade-control awareness training appropriate to their role before performing these duties, and refresher training thereafter. Training records are maintained under the Westlink training framework.

Sanctions Screening Control

Australian sanctions law prohibits making a sanctioned supply, importing sanctioned goods, providing a sanctioned service, or making an asset available to or dealing with a designated person or entity, without a permit from the Australian Sanctions Office. The autonomous regime (Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth) s.16 and Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (Cth) regs 12–16) and the United Nations regime (Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth) ss.20–21) both apply. For a body corporate, the principal offences are strict liability — no intention to breach need be proved — and the only available defence is to show that reasonable precautions and due diligence were taken. A documented, repeatable screening control is that defence.

Every party to a consignment and the carrying vessel or aircraft must be screened against the DFAT Consolidated List (the screening criterion for both regimes, maintained under Autonomous Sanctions Regulations reg 22), and the destination and goods must be screened against the sanctioned-country and sanctioned-goods measures, at the following points:

• At booking / consignment acceptance — before Westlink commits to arrange carriage.

• Before departure — to capture parties or vessels added after booking.

• Before any payment is made or received in connection with the consignment.

• Before release of the goods at destination.

Parties to be screened include the shipper, consignee, notify party, ordering party, end-user, freight payer, and the vessel or aircraft operator. The screening event must be recorded with the List source and its version or date, the parties screened, the result, and the identity of the person who performed it. This per-shipment screening record is the due-diligence artefact relied on under Autonomous Sanctions Act s.16(7).

Match handling

If a screening match is identified, or is suspected, the consignment is placed on hold immediately and is not progressed, paid or released. The Trade Compliance Officer assesses whether the match is a true match. A confirmed or unresolved match involving a freezable asset or a designated person is escalated to the Operations Manager and CEO, and DFAT and, where required, the AFP are notified. A consignment is released from a sanctions hold only where screening is cleared or a valid DFAT permit is held and recorded.

Customs Declarations and Valuation

Goods imported into or exported from Australia must be correctly entered with the ABF under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth). Where Westlink is not itself a licensed customs broker, a licensed customs broker is engaged to lodge import declarations; the engagement and the broker’s licence are recorded.

Imports

• An import declaration (Customs Act s.71A) is lodged for imported goods, with a correct tariff classification, customs value and country of origin.

• Customs value is determined on the transaction-value basis (s.161) where available, applying the fallback valuation hierarchy (ss.161A–161G) only where it is not. The valuation basis used is recorded for the consignment.

• Country of origin and any preferential-origin claim is substantiated before it is declared.

Exports

• An export entry / export declaration (Customs Act ss.113–114) is lodged and an Authority to Deal exists before goods are loaded for export. No consignment is loaded for export without the authority to deal having been confirmed.

• Where Westlink consolidates cargo into a container or other receptacle for export, the consolidation obligations under the Customs Act are met and the consolidated cargo is correctly reported.

Declarations must be accurate. A person must not, in connection with a customs matter, give information or produce a document that is false or misleading. Where a declaration error is identified after lodgement, it is corrected with the ABF promptly and the correction is recorded.

Export Controls — Defence and Strategic Goods

Defence and strategic goods and technology are controlled on export, and on certain supplies, publications and brokering activities, under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth), the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (Cth), the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) and the Defence and Strategic Goods List 2024 (Cth). Each of the principal DTCA offences carries up to 10 years imprisonment. Because a single consignment can engage both the tangible-export control and the intangible-supply or brokering control, both must be assessed.

Step 1 — DSGL classification

Each item in a defence, dual-use or technically sensitive consignment is classified against the DSGL: first against Part 1 (Munitions List, including ML9 naval and ML10 military-aircraft entries), then against Part 2 (Dual-Use List, including the Sensitive and Very-Sensitive lists). The classification, its basis (self-assessment against the instrument or a Defence assessment), and the identity of the classifier are recorded per line item. Where the classification of a specific item is uncertain, a Defence classification is sought before the consignment proceeds; the consignment is held in the interim.

Step 2 — permit assessment

• Tangible export of DSGL goods requires a Defence permission under the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (Cth) reg 13E, produced to a Collector. Exporting prohibited goods without that permission is an offence under Customs Act s.233(1)(c).

• Intangible supply, publication or brokering of DSGL goods or technology requires a permit under the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) ss.10–10C, 14A and 15. The permit number is recorded and the activity is not undertaken before the permit is held.

• Brokering — arranging the supply of controlled goods between two other parties, whether or not either party is Australian — is itself a controlled activity and is recorded in the brokering register.

Step 3 — foreign-national technology access

Access by a foreign person to DSGL technology — including in-Australia supply to a foreign person — is controlled under the Defence Trade Controls Act and is managed through access controls and, where required, a permit. Foreign-national access to controlled technical data held by Westlink is restricted and logged.

Step 4 — AUKUS / Australian Community exemption gating

The national-exemption and AUKUS arrangements under the Defence Trade Controls Act (s.27 Australian Community membership and the foreign-country power at s.15(4A)) can unlock licence-free supply to AUKUS partners where Westlink is an entitled member or authorised user. Whether Westlink holds that status is a matter of fact to be confirmed with Defence, not an assumption. Until membership / authorised-user status is confirmed and recorded, consignments are processed under the default permit regime. Where the exemption is relied on, the basis and any required pre-notification to Defence are documented for the consignment. [Confirmation of Westlink’s Australian Community / AUKUS authorised-user status is a management action — refer escalation to the Operations Manager.]

ITAR awareness: where a consignment includes a US-origin defence article delivered to Australia under a US export authorisation, its subsequent movement, re-export or re-transfer can remain subject to US International Traffic in Arms Regulations in addition to Australian controls. Such consignments are flagged and the applicable US authorisation is confirmed before movement.

Import Controls — Defence and Controlled Goods

Weapons, defence and strategic goods are controlled on import under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth). Before release of an imported consignment that may contain controlled goods, the goods are screened against the Schedules to those Regulations (including regs 4F and 4H), and any required permission is held and recorded. Goods imported without a required permission are prohibited imports under Customs Act s.233(1)(b) and are liable to forfeiture under s.229. A consignment that fails this screen is held and escalated to the Trade Compliance Officer; it is not released until a valid permission is confirmed or the goods are dealt with under ABF direction.

Biosecurity at Consignment Acceptance

Imported goods are subject to biosecurity control under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth). The importer — and a forwarder acting as the importer’s agent — is responsible for compliance. Prohibited goods (s.173) must not be imported, and conditionally non-prohibited goods (s.174) may be imported only where the determined conditions, including any permit, are met. The principal offences (ss.185–186) scale to 10 years imprisonment for aggravated breaches.

For each imported consignment, the following biosecurity assessment is performed at acceptance and recorded:

• BICON lookup on the commodity and its country of origin to determine whether the goods are prohibited, conditionally non-prohibited, or require an import permit; any permit is obtained before arrival.

• BMSB seasonal screen — where the goods are target high-risk goods or break-bulk / Ro-Ro cargo shipped from a target-risk country between 1 September and 30 April, mandatory approved-provider treatment is arranged and the treatment certificate obtained before arrival.

• ISPM-15 wood-packaging check — solid-wood packaging (pallets, crates, dunnage) must be ISPM-15 treated and IPPC-marked, and the treatment declared; non-compliant packaging is identified before shipment where possible.

• Phytosanitary and other documentation — plant material, plant-derived products and other regulated goods are accompanied by the required phytosanitary certificate or equivalent.

• Sea-container assessment — containers identified as target sea freight are presented for the required biosecurity assessment.

Where Westlink relies on third-party approved-arrangement providers (container-examination facilities, quarantine-approved premises, fumigation providers), those providers’ approvals are verified and recorded. Any biosecurity direction or control order issued in respect of a consignment is complied with and actioned. Westlink does not import goods it knows or suspects to be prohibited, and staff are made aware that biosecurity breaches carry strict-liability and criminal penalties. A retrievable import-compliance file is maintained for each consignment so that documents relating to the goods can be produced on demand (Biosecurity Act s.127).

Air-Cargo Security

Cargo carried by air is subject to the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (Cth) and the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 (Cth). Where Westlink makes arrangements for the transport of cargo by air, it operates within the regulated air-cargo scheme and handles cargo only through participants of the appropriate status (Known Consignor, Regulated Air Cargo Agent or Accredited Air Cargo Agent).

• Air cargo travels with a security declaration (ATSR reg 4.41D) that includes a general description of the contents and the cargo’s clearance status; the declaration is issued only where the originating and examination requirements are met (reg 4.41F).

• No cargo is loaded for air carriage without the required declaration (reg 4.41G). A pre-uplift checkpoint confirms the declaration and chain-of-custody status before the cargo is tendered to the carrier.

• Records of security declarations are retained for the period required by reg 4.41H (90 days), in addition to any longer retention set in GOV-SCH-001.

Accuracy of cargo descriptions is a criminal-liability control. Under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) Division 137, knowingly giving false or misleading information (s.137.1) or producing a false or misleading document (s.137.2) to a Commonwealth entity, or under a law of the Commonwealth, is an offence punishable by imprisonment. Staff who complete or sign cargo descriptions and clearance declarations are trained that a knowingly false cargo description or clearance is a Commonwealth offence, and that they must not sign a declaration they are not satisfied is accurate. Where a description is found to be incorrect, it is corrected through the proper channel rather than allowed to stand.

Internal Compliance Programme

The controls in this procedure are governed by an Internal Compliance Programme (ICP) maintained by the Trade Compliance Officer under the Operations Manager. The ICP provides the governance wrapper that makes the per-consignment controls assurable:

• Classification authority — who is authorised to make and approve DSGL classifications, and the escalation path to a Defence assessment.

• Permit register — current export, import and DTCA permits, with numbers, scope and expiry.

• Brokering register — controlled brokering activities and their permits.

• Foreign-national access register — persons with access to controlled technology and the basis for that access.

• Audit cadence — periodic internal audit of screening, classification and permit records, and corrective action on findings.

• Record retention — records of permitted activities are kept for at least five years (Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) s.58; Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s.240), per GOV-SCH-001.

Persons subject to the Customs Act, the Biosecurity Act and the Defence Trade Controls Act may be required to provide information, produce documents or permit inspection by authorised officers. The ICP ensures the records exist and are retrievable so that any such requirement can be met.

Defence-Cargo Operational Module

Defence and controlled-goods consignments follow an end-to-end workflow that ties together the export, import and ICP controls above. The workflow is initiated by pre-acceptance screening and is not departed from for any defence consignment.

• Pre-acceptance screening — on accepting a defence or controlled-goods consignment, screen for DSGL classification, applicable export/import permissions, sanctions exposure and end-user, before committing to carriage.

• Classification and permit — classify each item (Section 6, Step 1) and confirm the required permission or permit is held (Sections 6–7) before movement.

• Provenance and re-supply — before any offshore re-supply of previously supplied controlled goods, confirm the provenance of the goods and that the original supply was authorised.

• Movement and records — move the consignment only once all gates are cleared; record the classification, permits, screening and end-user in the per-consignment compliance file.

Retrospective assurance: for defence consignments previously handled by Westlink, a one-off back-verification — cataloguing prior defence consignments and confirming the relevant export/import permission existed — is a management action distinct from this steady-state procedure. [This historical back-verification is a management action — refer to the Operations Manager.] Going forward, the five-year record set and the provenance check at each re-supply (Defence Trade Controls Act s.58 and the offshore-re-supply control) satisfy the ongoing obligation.

Records and Retention

The records generated by this procedure are listed in the Records section below. Commercial documents relating to imports and exports must be kept for five years (Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s.240, strict liability), records of permitted defence-trade activities for five years (Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) s.58), and air-cargo security declarations for at least 90 days (Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 (Cth) reg 4.41H). Retention periods are set centrally in GOV-SCH-001 (Document Retention Schedule); this procedure must not be read as setting a shorter period than the statutory minimum.

Applicable Standards and Legislation

This procedure operates within the framework of the following external legislation, regulatory instruments and reference materials. Where a statutory provision applies, the statutory definition and obligations prevail over any narrative description in this procedure. Penalty-unit dollar values are not stated in this procedure; penalty-unit counts and imprisonment terms are as set out in the cited instruments.

• Customs Act 1901 (Cth) (compilation C2026C00161) — s.71A (import declaration), s.112 + Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations reg 13E (prohibited export of DSGL goods), s.113/114 (export entry and declaration), Div 2 valuation (ss.154/159/161), s.233/233AB/233BAB (export/import of prohibited goods — offences), s.240 (commercial documents to be kept — 5-year retention, strict liability)

• Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (Cth) (compilation F2026C00262) — reg 13E (export of DSGL goods prohibited unless Defence permission granted and produced to a Collector)

• Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth) (compilation F2026C00277) — reg 4 / 4F / 4H (import of weapons and defence/strategic goods prohibited unless permission or Schedule conditions met)

• Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth) (compilation C2024C00138) — s.16 (contravening a sanction law — individuals up to 10 years imprisonment / 2,500 penalty units; bodies corporate strict liability, 10,000 penalty units; s.16(7) due-diligence defence)

• Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (Cth) (compilation F2025C01175) — regs 12–16 (sanctioned supply / sanctioned service / making an asset available to a designated person / dealing with a controlled asset), reg 18 (sanctions permits), reg 22 (DFAT Consolidated List)

• Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth) (compilation C2021C00518) — s.20 (dealing with a freezable asset) and s.21 (making an asset available to a proscribed person or entity) — up to 10 years imprisonment / 2,500 penalty units (individuals); bodies corporate strict liability, 10,000 penalty units

• DFAT Consolidated List — persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions and travel bans (Australian Sanctions Office) — screening criterion for both the autonomous and United Nations Security Council sanctions regimes (Autonomous Sanctions Regulations reg 22)

• Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) (compilation C2026C00044) — s.173 (prohibited goods) / s.174 (conditionally non-prohibited goods and import conditions), s.185/186 (offences — up to 10 years / 5,000 penalty units aggravated), s.127 (production of documents on demand — 300 penalty units)

• Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (Cth) (compilation F2016L00756)

• Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON) database — Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — commodity- and origin-specific import conditions and permit requirements determined under Biosecurity Act s.174

• Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Seasonal Measures — Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Import Advice 293-2025) — mandatory approved-provider treatment for target high-risk goods and break-bulk/Ro-Ro shipped from target-risk countries 1 September – 30 April

• ISPM 15 — International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (regulation of wood packaging material in international trade), IPPC — heat treatment or methyl-bromide fumigation, IPPC mark, and packing declaration for solid-wood packaging (pallets, crates, dunnage)

• Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth) (compilation C2024C00463, post-AUKUS amendments) — ss.10/10A/10B/10C (supply, in-Australia supply to a foreign person, offshore re-supply, offshore services of DSGL goods/technology), s.14A (publish), s.15 (broker), s.27 (Australian Community / AUKUS exemption), s.58 (records — 5-year retention, strict liability) — each offence up to 10 years imprisonment / 2,500 penalty units

• Defence and Strategic Goods List 2024 (Cth) (F2024L01024) — Part 1 Munitions List (incl. ML9 naval, ML10 military aircraft) and Part 2 Dual-Use List (10 categories, Sensitive and Very-Sensitive lists)

• Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (Cth) (compilation C2026C00102) — air cargo security framework; security declarations and clearance for cargo carried by air

• Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 (Cth) (compilation F2026C00282) — reg 4.41D (cargo security declaration — general description of contents), 4.41F (eligibility to issue), 4.41G (no loading without declaration), 4.41H (90-day record retention) — strict liability

• Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) — Schedule, Division 137 (false or misleading information and documents) — s.137.1 (giving false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity) and s.137.2 (producing false or misleading documents) — 12 months imprisonment; s.137.1A aggravated (security clearance) up to 5 years