Pratique documentary clearance

The Australian shipping industry benefits from new quarantine clearance procedures from 1 July 2011.

All vessels entering Australia have previously undergone a routine quarantine inspection. This process has shown that most commercial vessels have a high level of compliance with biosecurity requirements.

The new AQIS procedures will reward compliant vessels with a streamlined clearance process, reducing costs and leading to faster clearance of vessel on arrival.

Under the Pratique Documentation Clearance (PDC) process, quarantine clearance will be achieved through an assessment of a vessel’s pre-arrival documentation – the Quarantine Pre-arrival Report (QPAR) – and its quarantine history.

PDC will enable vessels that are familiar with AQIS requirements, have an established compliance history and do not have any identified high risk triggers, to be cleared without a physical inspection.

Who is eligible for PDC

All vessels greater than 25m are eligible for PDC, except for livestock vessels, cruise ships, military vessels and super yachts.

Vessels: Undertaking bunkering or ship-to-ship transfers outside a proclaimed first port; Visiting an Australian installation or rig; or Bing Bong will be automatically eligible for PDC and receive reduced inspections by AQIS.

The eligibility process for PDC is assessed at the time of submission of the QPAR and is managed by the MNCC.