IFCBAA 2025 National Conference Day 1 wrap-up

REPRESENTATIVES from Freight forwarding, customs broking, maritime and air sectors from across Australia have convened in Adelaide for the International Forwarders & Customs Brokers Association Of Australia (IFCBAA)’s National Conference 2025.

The theme for the 2025 edition of the National Conference is “Australia's Pathway to Trade Growth in APAC”.

The conference spans three official days, from 22 May to 24 May, with presentations having begun today (23 May) after the first day which saw a port tour and airport tour, amongst other events.

The first day of presentations was officially opened by Simon Birmingham, the former federal minister in portfolios of finance, trade and education, and head of Asia Pacific engagement, ANZ Bank.

Mr Birmingham’s opening address effectively set up the day’s presentations, summarising aspects of Australia’s current market access with Asia.

Mr Birmingham outlined possible ideas for a number of trade-related issues, including proposing exploring a merger between Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, advocating for developing trade relations with Taiwan while maintaining diplomatic sensitivity, and focusing on quality rather than quantity in international education sector.

Following Mr Birmingham was Chris Waters, assistant commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF), who highlighted the appointment of new ABF commissioner Gavin Reynolds late last year, detailing that the commissioners vision intends to promote collaboration across government and with bodies such as IFCBAA.

Monica Collins, first assistant secretary of biosecurity operations division at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) spoke next, discussing how, despite Australia’s biosecurity system being one of the best in the world, it is currently under strain due to factors such as geopolitical tensions, and globalization bringing more exotic pests and diseases to the Australian border.

Following a question time with Mr Waters and Collins was Matt Abercromby, senior program manager with WiseTech Global, who spoke on the topic of Navigating Disruption: building resilient supply chains.

Mr Abercromby said geopolitical tensions were perhaps the biggest threat to global supply chains, while cybercrime remained a hidden danger.

A memorable quote from Mr Abercromby related to the benefits of companies training staff; “When a company owner says ‘why would I train a staff member if they’re just going to leave’, I say ‘imagine if you don’t train them and they stay’”.

“Where to next for the Aus and APAC economies” was the topic tackled by chief economist, ABE chair Besa Deda, who discussed the current tariff debate, positing that tariffs primarily hurt the country imposing them.

Deda also made the point that, outside of specific tariffs each country is paying, there are individual sector tariffs that come into play, also touching on the prediction that softer global growth means softer economic activity for Australia. In a specifically Australian context, Deda said the "door was wide open" for more rate cuts.

After morning tea saw a breakout session for “Marine & Land Stream”, with the first presentation including a three-man panel of Melwyn Nronha (CEO of Shipping Australia), Tim Mason (Regional Sales Manager Australia & New Zealand, OOCL), and Indika Dassanayake, CCO of CMA CGM.

The three individuals were asked a number of questions on the topic by both the moderator and crowd, including the question of what was the biggest challenge facing shipping, with Mr Noronha explaining his opinion the biggest challenge in the Australian context was regulation, and its consistent application.

Mr Mason said the Suez Canal’s eventual return to peak popularity would cause potential international disruptions, while Mr Dassanayake believed managing geopolitical tensions and keeping schedule reliability was paramount.

Continuing the three-person panels was Iain Sharples, senior marine risks underwriter at Salt Marine, John Thomson, senior claims executive at Thomas Miller, and Paul Mikula, insurance advisor, Austbrokers Comsure, discussing the topic “managing cargo risks through disruptions”.

Mr Sharples in particular recounted one example where a retailer had its goods onboard a ship detained off the coast of Brisbane, with the retailer arguing the goods were worth 1.4 million ahead of the Christmas break, with the final digure being settled on for 300k of loss.

Troy Angove, COO at Contract Logistics and business development at Arrow Transport, and Michael Punter, COO and Port Logistics at Arrow Transport then sat down to discuss carrier, depot, and warehouse interface, using Arrow Transport’s systems as a focal point.

Zoran Kostadinoski, commercial manager with Sidelink Transport, then discussed carrier and stevedore interface, which included a discussion and about the increasing logistics challenge of managing time when the Port of Melbourne receives large amounts of cargo ahead or on the weekend, and working within the hours of other parties that may not be 24/7.

The session then broke for lunch; more to come!