Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox government agency The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travellers and goods, whilst protecting the safety, security and commercial interests of Australians.Template:Sfn It was headquartered in Canberra and employed over 5,800 people around Australia and overseas.Template:Sfn

The agency was under the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General's Department from 2009 to 2013, and then transferred to the newly formed Department of Immigration and Border Protection in 2013, until its transformation into the Australian Border Force in 2015.

The functions of the agency are now delivered by the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force.

Agency roleEdit

The Service defined its role as follows: “Our role is complex and diverse and requires a very considered and increasingly targeted approach to conducting our business. If we do not manage our responsibilities effectively, the potential impacts… may negatively affect the Australian community, international travellers and trade relations both here and overseas” <ref name="CEOreview2011">CEO Review, Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref>

The Service was Australia's predominant border control agency. From international travellers at airports, to overseas mail and trade brought in by sea, it was responsible for the continued safety and security of the people and goods that travel across Australia's borders.<ref>About Us, Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref>

File:Australian Customs.jpg

An Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Customs Marine Unit docked in Darwin, Northern Territory

In conjunction with the Australian Defence Force, the Service facilitated Australia's response to the detection and rescue of 'suspected irregular entry vessels' that smuggled people from South-East Asia into Australian waters.<ref>Border Protection Command Template:Webarchive, 1 May 2012</ref> The agency was also responsible for the discovery and apprehension of 'illegal foreign fishing vessels', the patrol of remote Australian and international waters, and aerial surveillance of Australia's coastline.<ref>Maritime Security Threats Template:Webarchive, Border Protection Command, 1 May 2012</ref> To achieve these functions, the Service operated its own air and sea patrol unit, the Customs Marine Unit.Template:Citation needed

The Service used an intelligence-led, risk-based approach to managing threats, focussing on specific targets that may pose a risk to the border.Template:Sfn This allowed the agency to plan coordinated responses, interventions and strategies with various other government agencies, including; Australian Crime Commission, Australian Federal Police, Attorney-General's Department, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Department of Defence, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Office of Transport Security.<ref name="BPCpartneragencies">Partner Agencies, Border Protection Command, 1 May 2012</ref>

Import and export controlEdit

Customs controlled the import and export of goods to and from Australia, in particular the control of prohibited or restricted items, and the interception of illegal and potentially harmful goods such as drugs, weapons and computer games. Techniques used to target high-risk aircraft, vessels, cargo, postal items and travellers included using intelligence, computer-based profiling and analysis, detector dogs, Smartgate, container X-ray facilities, closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring and other means.Template:Citation needed

Customs officers at air and sea ports, in addition to performing basic immigration control (see below), assessed passengers arrival and departure cards, and had the authority to scan and search passenger baggage. Quarantine risk material could be referred to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service officers.Template:Citation needed

Goods arriving from overseas by post were cleared by Customs and AQIS officers before being released to Australia Post for delivery.Template:Citation needed

Customs collected goods and services tax (GST) on taxable goods imported into Australia.Template:Citation needed

Customs administered the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) for tourists visiting Australia temporarily or Australian residents leaving the country, allowing them, under certain conditions, to claim a refund of the GST or Wine equalisation tax on items purchased in Australia.<ref>Tourist Refund Scheme, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, 1 May 2012</ref>

People smugglingEdit

The Service was the lead agency in the Australian government's response to people-smuggling and often performed activities on behalf of other agencies<ref name="BPCpartneragencies" /> including:

Monitoring Australian waters for potential people smuggling vessels
Intercepting boats carrying immigrants without valid visas with Bay Class vessels<ref>Bay Class Vessels, Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref>
Transporting people found in vessels to Australian territory for immigration and quarantine assessment
Coordinating education and awareness campaigns overseas to deter people-smuggling activities

TerrorismEdit

The Service operated under the 'National Counter-Terrorism Plan', which was a plan intended to mitigate any risk of terrorism in Australia. The Service worked in conjunction with other Australian Government departments to screen and target any potential threats moving across the border,Template:Sfn including:

Air and sea passengers
Cargo (sea, air and mail)
Maritime surveillance
Remote area patrols

Illegal entryEdit

The Service was responsible for processing all travellers entering<ref>Arriving Passengers, Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref> and leaving<ref>Departing Travellers</ref> the country. At the border, Service officers would check all passengers to ensure compliance with customs, immigration and quarantine requirements. The Service's purpose was to stop people without correct documentation or visas from entering the country.Template:Citation needed

Controlled substancesEdit

One of the largest areas of work undertaken by the Service was in relation to the importation of narcotics and precursor substances and the smuggling of illegal amounts of tobacco.Template:Sfn Examination techniques such as x-ray, trace detection technology and detector dogs were used to screen people, goods, mail, vessels and aircraft moving across Australia's border.

Prohibited materialEdit

Australian law prohibits the importing of any material of an offensive, grotesque or otherwise objectionable nature.Template:Sfn The Service worked to prevent the importation of material that was either refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, or was unclassified but would likely be refused classification by the Australian Classification Board.<ref>Pornography and Objectionable Material, Australian Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref> This included material in electronic form such as CDs or DVDs, computer hard drives and within electronic games. Prohibited material included, but was not limited to:

Child pornography
Offensive or sexualised violence
Criminal or terrorist material
Drug use
Fetish material

Illegal foreign fishingEdit

The Service was the lead agency coordinating regular patrol (both aerial surveillance and on-water) of Australia's 'Exclusive Economic Zone' to detect and deter any foreign fishing vessels.<ref>Patagonian Tooth Fish Factsheet, Australian Customs and Border Protection, 1 May 2012</ref> Along with dedicated in-country education programs designed to deter people from undertaking illegal fishing,Template:Sfn the Service's work saw a continual decline in the rates of foreign fishing vessels entering the EEZ.Template:Citation needed

HistoryEdit

EstablishmentEdit

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service had its origins in the Department of Trade and Customs, established at federation in 1901. The organisation was restructured several times since, including becoming the Department of Customs and Excise in 1958 and then briefly the Department of Police and Customs in 1975.Template:Sfn Later that same year, the Bureau of Customs was established, which remained the Australian Government's customs agency until 1985 when the Australian Customs Service was established.Template:Sfn

In December 2008 then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the Australian Government would be augmenting, re-tasking and renaming the Australian Customs Service to create the new Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Royal Assent was given to the changes on 22 May 2009 and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was established.<ref name="NAA CA 9259"/>

Australian Border ForceEdit

In 2015, the Australian Government announced changes to the Immigration and Border Protection portfolio in relation to future border protection arrangements. From 1 July 2015, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service were consolidated into a single Department of Immigration and Border Protection. At this time, the Australian Border Force, a single frontline operational border agency, was established within the department. The Australian Border Force draws together the operational border, investigations, compliance, detention and enforcement functions of the two former agencies, as well as policy, regulatory and corporate functions.Template:Refn

Agency statisticsEdit

When it existed, each week the Service would:Template:Sfn

ClearEdit

268,000 air passengers arriving in Australia
1,620 international flights
260 ships arriving in Australian ports from overseas
14 overseas smallcraft
24,600 export entries
268,700 air way bills
48,500 sea cargo manifest lines

PatrolEdit

Three million square nautical miles including:
- Australia's coastline and seas, including the Southern Ocean and Northern waters
- airports
- sea ports
- mail centres

InspectEdit

2000 sea cargo containers
29,500 air cargo consignments
776,000 letters
405,500 parcels from overseas

CollectEdit

$188 million in revenue from various sources, for Customs and Border Protection and on behalf of other agencies

NotesEdit

Footnotes

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Citations