AUSTRALIA has become the first country to mandate load and restraint training for freight forwarders who build their own unit load device (ULD).
This follows a mail vote by airlines and a proposal earlier this year endorsed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA).
This proposal was originally put forward by the Australian Cargo Executive Council (CEC) consisting of airlines and forwarders who believed training for building ULD should be mandated.
This was backed by the International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Australia Association (IFCBAA) whose directors are part of the CEC.
IFCBAA directors Paul Golland, Daniel Andersen and Wade Bollard worked to have this training mandated as an important air travel safety measure.
“As almost 90% of all export air cargo moves on passenger aircraft it was felt that people building a ULD should be professionally trained,” Mr Golland said, noting anecdotal cases of units previously being rejected before being loaded onto an aircraft as well as units collapsing on arrival.
“We hope the training will eliminate these types of issues.”
Freight forwarders not intending to build their own ULD are to be exempt from the training and will be able to advise IATA of this by ticking a box on their applications as they do for dangerous goods.
Mr Golland said it was hoped other nations would follow.
“Some countries such as India and China are unable to build ULD and as such will be exempt from the training but we do hope others that do will adopt our mandate,” he said.
“I am sure no one would want to see an aircraft crash due to incorrect loading of cargo in a ULD and ensuring training is done will reduce this risk even more.”
IATA is to now begin the process of planning for transition and implementation of both resolution amendments.
Further details regarding the implementation of the changes will be shared at the next CEC meeting, which is to be phased out to make way for its replacement by the LCC.
These changes come into effect on 12 January 2026 and are based on the expiry date of each IATA licence.
It is up to the freight forwarder to monitor when their licence expires and ensure all training is done prior to their licence expiry date.
IFCBAA provides the training via a one-day course and can be contacted for further information.