Notice to Industry 28/2009 Review of the format of the Cargo Containers: Quarantine Aspects and Procedures booklet
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For over 40 years the Cargo Containers: Quarantine Aspects and Procedures (CC-QAP) booklet has been a source of information on AQIS requirements for containerised cargo.
The AQIS Import Clearance Program has reviewed the documentary requirements for the clearance of imported cargo. The review was conducted in consultation with industry and resulted in the development of two new policy documents, 'Minimum Documentary Requirements Policy' and 'Non-commodity Information Requirements Policy'. These two documents will become the new standard reference points for the documentary requirements for imported cargo.
A recent AQIS Import Industry Advice Notice (Notice to Industry 23/2009—Changes to AQIS Documentation Requirements for the Clearance of Imported Cargo) details the purpose of these policy documents and lists the main changes to current requirements which will be made as a result of their implementation. The proposed implementation date for the new policies is 1 August 2009.
What is the impact on the CC-QAP booklet?
1. Changes to documentary requirements currently referenced in CC-QAP booklet
When the new policies are implemented, they will bring certain changes to documentary requirements for containerised cargo, some of which are:
- newly manufactured plywood/veneer certificate is currently accepted for ply/veneer packaging, but will no longer be acceptable.
- commercial treatment certificates are currently accepted for ISPM 15 treated timber packaging and dunnage, but will no longer be accepted.
- compliance to AS1604 will be an additional option for treatment of commodity timber, timber packaging and dunnage and cargo container flooring.
2. Review of the format of the CC-QAP booklet
The two new documentary policy documents now accommodate much of the information currently contained in the CC-QAP booklet. This information will be removed from CC-QAP and replaced, with links to the new policy documents. The remaining text will gradually be replaced by links to other relevant information on the AQIS website (e.g. Khapra beetle, giant African snail (GAS), timber and treatment information, ICON cases, and so on).
The new CC-QAP will be in the form of a web page, with all the links to detailed information embedded in explanatory text. The content of the webpage will also be available in PDF and Word format. Links to the CC-QAP document in ICON and in other areas of the AQIS website will remain active.
The information currently in the CC-QAP booklet can be divided into two categories:
- information which will be affected by changes when the new policies are implemented, e.g. newly manufactured plywood/veneer certificate is currently accepted for ply/veneer packaging, but will no longer be acceptable.
- information that will not change with the introduction of new policies and already exists elsewhere on the AQIS website, e.g. relevant ICON cases, GAS information, Khapra information, timber and treatment information, etc.
The first set of changes will explain the new format of CC-QAP and highlight sections of the document where policy changes are about to occur. Direct links to the new policies themselves will also be provided. If time permits as much text as possible will be replaced with explanatory notes containing relevant links to existing information elsewhere on the AQIS website.
The second set of changes will be timed to occur when the new policies are implemented (1 August 2009) and will replace outdated information with new information and phase out periods as required. All remaining text will be replaced with explanatory notes containing relevant links to existing information elsewhere on the AQIS website.
AQIS Import Industry Advice Notices and/or ICON Public Quarantine Alerts (PQAs) will announce progress on the change in format of CC-QAP and any significant changes in the content of any AQIS web pages referenced once the change in format is complete.
3. Timber permanent preservatives
The existing AQIS timber preservation requirements (currently in Appendix I of CC-QAP) will be moved into a new document which will be housed in both Word and PDF format at the same web address as CC-QAP. The new requirements for compliance to the Australian timber preservation Standard AS/NZS 1604 will also be included in that new document.
Further information
For further information please contact one of the following: