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The Scheme: Containerised Cargo Clearance CCC scheme for FCL/X
- Introduction
- Compliance Agreements
- Operational Procedures Statements
- Subscribing to the CCC Scheme for FCL/X compliance agreement
Introduction
Section 66B of the Quarantine Act 1908 provides for the adoption of Compliance Agreements relevant to certain quarantine activities governed by the Act.
AQIS formalised co-regulatory arrangements (in consultation with Industry) through the establishment of Compliance Agreements. The first of these was the Containerised Cargo Clearance scheme for FCL/X, which focuses on the clearance of non-commodity concerns for FCL/ FCX containers. AQIS has entered, and will in future enter, into a number of other Compliance agreements with various sectors of the importing and exporting Industry. All AQIS compliance agreements will have essentially the same structure as outlined in the figure below.
Compliance agreements
Compliance Agreements provide the basis for co-regulatory arrangements to operate and meet the provisions of the Quarantine Act 1908. Industry parties who voluntarily enter into a compliance agreement are subject to the provisions of that agreement.
A Compliance Agreement consists of a set of Standard Terms and one or more Schedules. Each schedule is a separate co-regulatory arrangement, such as for example the CCC scheme for FCL/X. A business may enter into a number of co-regulatory arrangements under the one set of Standard Terms by subscribing to a number of Schedules. The Table of Schedules provides an index of each Schedule and its associated OPS.
The various components of a Compliance Agreement are represented below.
Operational Procedures Statements
As previously mentioned, each Schedule has its own set of OPS which are specifically related to that Schedule. The OPS consist of:
a) a Process Management System (PMS), and
b) a set of policies, namely: i) an Audit Policy, ii) a Compliance Policy, iii) a Review Policy, and iv) an Appeals Policy.
Subscribing to the CCC scheme for FCL/X
Amendments to the Quarantine Act 1908 have resulted in a more formal recognition of the roles and responsibilities of all parties to a Compliance Agreement in accordance with section 66B of the Act. Accordingly, Compliance Agreements must only be signed by a person (a Manager or Director) within the business, who has: i) responsibility for the business's operations; and ii) who is authorised to enter into legally binding contracts on its behalf.
To subscribe to the CCC scheme for FCL/X, the authorised Manager or Director must complete and sign the following:
a) the Standard Terms, and
b) the Schedule
Additionally, the business entity, as the 'Other Party' to the Compliance Agreement, must be fully conversant with the specific requirements of the scheme, which are set out in:
c) the Processes and Outcomes Document (POD)
d) the Audit Policy
e) the Compliance Policy
f) the Appeals Policy, and
g) the Review Policy.