AQIS Service Charter

Table of Contents

• From the Executive Director
• Download the AQIS Service Charter
• Our role
• Our clients
• Your rights
• How you can help us
• Our service standards
• Monitoring and reviewing the charter
• Help us improve our services
• Compliments and complaints
• Reporting of quarantine and export breaches
• Contact us for more information
  
  
  
  

From the Executive Director

The AQIS Service Charter sets out our commitment to provide you with a consistently high level of service, whether you are a visitor to Australia, an importer, exporter or a member of the Australian community.

We are committed to ongoing business improvement and want to ensure your needs are foremost when developing and refining our business processes and practices.

In return, we ask for honesty and respect in your dealings with us. We also ask for and value your feedback.

This feedback together with structured industry consultation helps us to continually improve our programs and the efficiency of our services—and in turn to better meet your needs.

For our commercial clients, we recognise that government regulation can be seen as a cost to the business. Equally, our quarantine and export inspection and certification services are an enormous contributor to Australia's reputation in international markets—and that's why we seek to work as an active partner with industry to maintain and enhance this reputation.

We are committed to providing our services in ways that consider the impact on you while meeting our legal obligations as well as those to the Australian community at large.

I commend the charter to you and welcome your comments and suggestions.

Mr Rob Delane
Executive Director

Download the AQIS Service Charter

AQIS Service Charter  PDF [1mb]

Our role

AQIS provides quarantine inspection services for the arrival of international passengers, cargo, mail, animals and plants or their products into Australia. It also provides export certification for a range of agricultural, fisheries and forestry produce exported from Australia. As a business group within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under the direction of the Australian Government and our portfolio Ministers, AQIS works to continually improve the efficiency of its services and enhance its client relations.

Our clients

• The Australian community
• Government
• Industry
• Exporting and importing entities and people
• Travellers
• Other government agencies
• International trade organisations.

Your rights

You should expect to be provided with accurate advice and information, timely responses and transparent decisions. You have the right to privacy and confidentiality as prescribed by law and to obtain information under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. You can seek review of our decisions according to relevant guidelines and legislation. When serving you our staff are committed to: 

• professionalism
• integrity
• providing you with fair, unbiased treatment
• showing respect
• being efficient, effective and consistent in administering our regulatory responsibilities. This will be done in accordance with relevant legislation, Government policy and public accountability requirements and in consultation with our industry consultative committees.

How you can help us

AQIS strives to provide a high level of service to our clients. In return, we ask you to:

• familiarise yourself and comply with Australian Government requirements and legislation for importing/ exporting goods
• be open and honest with us
• tell us if you need an interpreter
• provide complete, accurate, and timely information
• treat our staff with respect.

Our service standards

If you phone an AQIS office…
…we will answer or return calls promptly during office hours and identify the name of the person speaking and/or the area you have contacted. If we are unable to answer your query directly we will take your contact details and arrange for the appropriate person to assist you as soon as possible and no later than within two business days.

If you write or email…
…we will respond to your request within 10 business days of receipt. If we cannot fully answer your query in that time we will advise you of when a complete response can be expected.

If you attend an AQIS office for clearing imported or exported goods…
…we aim to attend to you within 30 minutes of arriving at the office. During peak periods throughout a business day and when there are significant short-term increases in trade activity, there may be occasions of delay in our larger offices. You can expect to spend about 15 minutes with an AQIS officer for each standard transaction that is accompanied by valid documentation.

If you lodge electronic documentation for clearing imported or exported goods…
…to facilitate efficient processing and cut waiting times, we encourage where possible the electronic lodgement of documentation for clearance of imported or exported goods—in most circumstances, it will be processed within the equivalent of one business day.

Monitoring and reviewing the charter

To ensure this charter remains relevant and up-to-date and reflects your expectations, we welcome and will respond to your feedback. We will also continue to monitor the application of the commitments made in this charter. We publicly report our compliance with the charter as part of the DAFF Annual Report and the annual AQIS in Review—a Report to Clients. AQIS conducts annual client satisfaction surveys to seek your feedback about our performance. Results of past surveys are available on our website.

If you present goods to AQIS that require treatment…
…where you have agreed to treatment, AQIS will provide you or your representative with treatment direction and an indicated clearance time within two business days. The time taken for processing your goods is dependent on the nature of treatment or the mandatory duration of quarantine periods. Associated costs will be incurred.

If you arrive on an international flight…
…and have fully declared items subject to quarantine on your Incoming Passenger Card, you can routinely expect to be through quarantine formalities within 30 minutes of being directed to an AQIS officer.

If you require an AQIS officer to inspect goods at an approved premises…
…we will aim to provide this service within two business days of confirmation of your appointment. During periods of significant short-term increases in trade activity, there may be delays. If this is the case, we will consult you to agree on a mutually suitable time for your appointment.

Help us improve our services

To comment on this charter, you can: 

Mail: Either complete the AQIS Compliments and Complaints brochure available in all AQIS offices or write to:

AQIS Client Feedback
Reply Paid 858
Canberra ACT 2601

AQIS staff work under the Australian Public Service or related state codes of conduct (more information is available from the Australian Public Service Commission or your state government). We encourage you to let us know of any behaviour you consider inappropriate or unethical, including the unauthorised release of information. Equally, we ask that you do not offer any AQIS staff member an inducement or expect preferential treatment.

Compliments and complaints

We are committed to complying with Standards Australia's Complaints Handling standard (AS 4269-1995). Whether you are satisfied with our performance or if we have not met your expectations, we value your feedback. To make a compliment or complaint, you can: 

• speak to an AQIS officer
• contact the relevant Regional Manager
• complete the AQIS Compliments and Complaints brochure available in all AQIS offices or online
• contact us through any method listed above.

We will work with you to resolve the issue and all information will be treated confidentially. If you wish to take your complaint outside of AQIS, please contact:

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman
Toll free: 1300 362 072
Website: Commonwealth Ombudsman 

Australian Federal Police

If your feedback relates to services provided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) go to AFP Feedback and Complaints.

Reporting of quarantine and export breaches

AQIS Redline (1800 803 006) is a freecall telephone service so you can confidentially report someone you suspect is breaking Australian quarantine, meat or food inspection laws. 

You can also write confidentially to:

AQIS Redline
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601

or send an email to Compliance

Contact us for more information

You can find out more about AQIS by contacting the relevant regional office.