Business Envoy February 2022
Australia's trade systems are being revamped to make cross- border trade easier and less costly for business.
Currently, Australian businesses looking to import or export can face expensive and time-consuming processes, with multiple government jurisdictions and regulations to navigate. Some processes are manual and duplicative.
The Australian Government has committed an additional $137.7 million over four years for the whole-of-government Simplified Trade System microeconomic reform agenda.
The Simplified Trade System will streamline trade regulations, supported by more modern ICT systems, and make it easier for business to interact with government.
The measures will also modernise Australia's agriculture export and import systems and processes, and deliver on commitments to support industry's $100 billion by 2030 and the Commonwealth Biosecurity 2030 agenda.
Australian agricultural producers and exporters will benefit from the harmonisation of traceability standards and data, maximising exporters' ability to meet market demands and receive premium prices for their quality produce. There will be improvements to modernise biosecurity systems, with businesses easily able to book biosecurity inspections online and manage changes to these bookings.
The Simplified Trade System is an outcome of the government's deregulation agenda to cut red tape, boost productivity and save time and money. The Simplified Trade System Implementation Taskforce is leading this agenda.
We're stepping forward; using new digital technologies to lead the world in removing paper documents from the international trading system – making trade faster, more efficient and more secure.
Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs