IN A good result for the lobbying efforts of shipper bodies yesterday’s meeting of National Cabinet’s infrastructure and transport ministers agreed to strengthen scrutiny and management of stevedores’ land-based charges, and to include empty container parks.
Responding to two recommendations put forward by Victoria’s Minister for Ports and Freight Melissa Horne, ministers endorsed the National Transport Commission to update the National Voluntary Guidelines for landside stevedore charges to include a new requirement for stevedore operators to implement price changes annually on 1 January.
As per a communique issued after the meeting, ministers also agreed the NTC will work with jurisdictions to include empty container park operators in the Guidelines with similar requirements as stevedore operators.
“These changes will improve transparency of landside pricing and charging behaviour, maximising freight productivity as it looks to improve the efficiency of Australia’s container freight supply chains,” the ITMM said.
Ministers also agreed the Infrastructure and Transport Senior Officials’ Committee will establish a working group to explore options and recommended next steps in response to findings by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission concerning stevedore charges.
The Freight & Trade Alliance and Australian Peak Shippers Association were instrumental in pushing state and federal governments to address what the ACCC called “market failure” in its 2024 Container Monitoring Report.
FTA/APSA’s Tom Jensen told DCN yesterday’s announcement was an important national commitment from the ITMM to improve transparency and predictability for importers, exporters, freight forwarders, customs brokers, logistics providers and transport operators.
“Our priority now is to work with the NTC to ensure the updated Guidelines are finalised within months, not years, and that this work is treated as a priority to deliver genuine outcomes rather than procedural change,” Mr Jensen said.
“While this is a welcome step, the voluntary nature of the Guidelines remains a significant limitation, and we will continue to advocate for a mandatory regulatory framework to address excessive and unregulated landside charges.”
While DP World Australia declined to comment, a spokesperson for Patrick Terminals said the company welcomed the formalisation of updates to the National Voluntary Guidelines, having already adopted the enhancements in all states back in 2024.
“Patrick Terminals has invested more than $1 billion to provide more resilient services to quayside and landside customers over the past 10 years. This investment has contributed to the halving of real supply chain costs across the past 20 years. Businesses like Patrick Terminals play a vital role in investing and allocating resources to be able to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” the spokesperson said.
“Patrick Terminals is proud of its leading role in creating economic value by working hard to minimise the impact of major disruption events in recent years.
“It is important that focus remains on securing strong, resilient and productive supply chains for Australia’s future.”