Hon Julian Hill MP Speech to the Australian Trusted Trader Symposium 2025
Speech to the Australian Trusted Trader Symposium
Sydney - 28 May, 2025
It's terrific that my first gig in my new role as the Assistant Minister for Customs is to welcome, on behalf of the government, all the business attendees to the 2025 Australian Trusted Trader Symposium. And, this year we have a record number of business attendees.
Thank you to Australian Border Force as our hosts. A special shoutout to ABF Commissioner and the 24th Comptroller-General of Customs, Gavan Reynolds AO, for his invitation to share some of today with you.
Gavan comes to the ABF from more than four decades of service to our nation in the Australian Defence Force, where he was the inaugural Chief of Defence Intelligence. I got to know Gav when I served on the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Intelligence and Security as Chair of the Defence Subcomittee, and he's a terrific leader and thinker, and a person of integrity. We are lucky to have him at the ABF.
Welcome also other government colleagues from AUSTRAC, the Australian Federal Police, and the Departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Home Affairs.
Given this is a first date, being new to the portfolio, just a small bit of context about me. Before serving in the Parliament I was a senior public servant in Victoria, working for both sides of politics in many areas, including business engagement, regional development, metropolitan planning strategy and urban development, skilled and business migration, industry policy and more.
I have a deep interest in public policy and a commitment to strong engagement with businesses to ensure critical public services operate with integrity, as efficiently as possible. Both for the benefit of taxpayers, and those who consume public services.
There's a tiny touch of catharsis in this, in that my part-time job for years whilst at Uni was working in a small business that predominantly imported its stock. One of my tasks was often to figure out the customs paperwork and collect bits and pieces. I remember the confusing torture it was back then to try and figure out the relevant rates, classifications, and write hard enough on the forms with the right pen so the duplicate and triplicate paperwork was legible. Gav assures me we've come along way!
Perhaps a touch of this has stayed with me though. In my first briefings with the ABF I flagged that I'm very interested in what contribution – large or small – our ongoing reforms can make to the government's productivity agenda.
Productivity isn't just obsession for economists — it's the foundation for better jobs, stronger businesses and a higher standard of living for Australians. Lifting productivity forms a critical part of the government's economic agenda and the PM has tasked all Ministers with finding contributions from every portfolio.
My super smart colleague, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh Assistant Minister to the Treasurer has spoken extensively on this and neatly summarises a smarter, more modern approach to boosting productivity as investing in the three I's: in individuals through skills; in high-quality infrastructure; and in institutions that can manage complexity and change. To grow and economy that's competitive and fair.
This stands in contrast with the harsh and far narrower version of the story that Australians were sold in recent years: that boosting productivity meant cutting wages and conditions and hoping the gains would trickle down.
If Australian businesses are to play — and win — on the global stage, we need to "reduce the sand in the gears".
That means rethinking tariffs that punish innovation and reward stagnation. That's why, last year, the Government scrapped nearly 500 so-called 'nuisance' tariffs — duties that raised negligible revenue but created mountains of paperwork. It was the biggest unilateral tariff reform in two decades, saving businesses over $30 million a year in compliance costs and streamlining $8.5 billion worth of annual trade.
But tariff cuts alone don't build trust. That's where institutions must contribute—rules that are clear, regulators that are capable, and processes that don't feel like an endurance test. Trade is as much about confidence as containers. If the global system looks rigged or erratic, businesses hedge, diversify, or retreat.
Summing it up in this way, as Andrew has so neatly written, "a progressive productivity agenda also means investing in predictability—making sure our trade settings are stable, transparent, and open to scrutiny. That's how we build a system that's not just faster or cheaper, but fairer too."
I'm looking forward to working with you to continue our combined efforts to make our border processes faster, smarter and stronger.
Protecting our borders since 1901
Locating today's deliberations in history can be instructive. Australia's national customs function has a long, rich and proud history with origins dating to Federation in 1901 and even before that to the old Colonial Customs Houses and such.
At Federation, it began with Australia's first customs and border protection agency, the Department of Trade and Customs.
Since then, despite periodic changes in language and organisational form, the fundamental purpose has remained the same: to safeguard the border frontline ― and to enforce laws that protect and promote the security and economic prosperity of Australia.
In those early days, our exporters were mainly shipping wool, wheat and butter. Today's gathering brings together businesses exporting a dizzyingly divers range of goods and services.
Robotic instrumentation, wine, boots as well as global brands like Apple, Qantas, DHL and IKEA, all part of the Trusted Traders program.
The ATT Program
Launched in 2016, following an initial rapid growth phase the ATT has matured into a critical part of our nation's trading system and demonstrates the principles of collaboration and shared responsibility.
Australian businesses with a proven track record of doing the right thing are rewarded as Trusted Traders with faster and easier market access. Enjoying a competitive edge with streamlined processes intended to get your cargo in and out of Australia quicker, and more reliably and efficiently.
In turn, this allows ABF to focus greater scrutiny on those outside the Trusted Trader regime who present greater risks.
The ATT program has also changed how we work with international trading partners and industry stakeholders. The ABF has continued to work hard to establish Mutual Recognition Arrangements with other international customs agencies give Trusted Traders priority treatment at the borders of our partner economies.
Last year, the ABF signed new MRAs with India and Indonesia, two of the world's fastest growing economies, bringing the total number of these international agreements to 11.
Assistant Commissioner Tony Smith will be providing a detailed update later today.
Australian Border Force turns 10
The Australian Border Force is marking its 10th anniversary this year.
We can look back on a decade of increasing trade volumes, significant advances in technology, such as AI, economic shocks, natural disasters, and an ever-evolving criminal threat environment that has expanded into the cyber domain.
Despite that, year after year, the ABF hits new records for revenue collected and recovered, a testament to the commitment of its workforce, who continue to protect Australia's vast border, keep our people safe, and facilitate legitimate travel and trade.
Growth and reach
Managing the borders efficiently really matters to our economy in which one in four Australian jobs are now directly related to the border and moving trade across it. And currently trade is set to grow rapidly.
Putting aside the inherent uncertainty with global trade and conflicts, our current projection is for cargo to grow by more than 70% over the next decade.
Better supporting small and medium businesses is a priority.
Alongside further opening Australia up to new export markets and creating jobs and wealth at home. A particular priority is strengthening our relationships in the Pacific and Southeast Asia—growing economic opportunities through initiatives like the Government's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy.
I commend the ABF on the recent delivery of a range of trade and customs capacity building initiatives to assist our Pacific customs counterparts.
This has included the ABF working with Trusted Traders to support the improvement of our Pacific partners' supply chain security and border management practices.
The ABF, in collaboration with industry, has also been successful in helping Pacific countries set up their own Authorised Economic Operator programs using the lessons learnt from the Australian Trusted Trader experience.
ATT next steps
Looking to the future, while the ATT program is mature it is not stagnant. Our approach for the future is a combination of continuous improvement while growing the program at a sustainable level.
Growing, both by welcoming new applicants who see value and meet the exacting standards, and also trying to increase the ATT coverage or reach in terms of volume and value of trade.
Continuous improvement, by driving improvements in supply chain integrity and in enhancing economic benefits.
Listening to you and other ATT members is key to his. Last year's feedback is directly informing the review of the AEO SAFE Framework of Standards, to be discussed at the World Customs Organization this November.
The ABF is considering how certain industry members can help the ABF to do more and target better—not just at a volume level, but as key service providers in the supply chain.
The ABF is also enhancing its collaboration and information sharing between industry, law enforcement agencies, and other regulatory bodies.
Stronger connections can improve enforcement of trade regulations, prevent illicit trade, and promote voluntary compliance, benefiting those traders who do the right thing and protecting the community from a myriad of harms.
One I'd point to as an area of enhanced interest and focus right now is the issue of 'trade baed money laundering'. I'm keen to learn more and will attend this afternoon's panel on this topic. This is a good example of how the Trusted Trader program has matured over the years into a collaborative effort, with a shift from more traditional security concerns to a broader focus on supply chain integrity, and now to other challenges impacting customs, such as anti-money laundering efforts.
Modernisation agenda
While I appreciate that businesses choose to seek and maintain Trusted Trader accreditation in order to save time and money, I thank you for doing so as the benefits are two-way. You are also making a significant contribution in keeping Australia running in top gear—more efficiently delivering innovations, goods, and services to and from all corners of the globe.
The continued evolution of Trusted Trader is integral to Australia's broader trade modernisation agenda. It helps secure international trade supply chains, facilitates trade, and offers a trusted environment to test and trial new modernisation initiatives.
We seek a future international trading system for Australia that is digital, seamless, more automated and secure to enhance our competitiveness, integration with key trade partners and give us an edge on many of our competitors.
Initiatives include:
- integrated and automated border examination processes
- improving our intelligence and risk assessment capabilities using new and emerging technologies.
For example, new cargo intervention models where the ABF is working with industry to trial Automated Threat Detection technology.
The benefits here are two-fold: enhancing border screening capabilities and enabling faster processing for incoming cargo.
Strengthening the facilitation of legitimate cargo and goods, while making it harder for threats to national security and transnational, serious and organised crime to penetrate our networks—in particular the supply chains of genuine traders.
Trade modernisation will also reduce, streamline or eliminate interactions between traders, government, service providers and third parties and improve information sharing.
Further reducing the costs of trade, and relieving the regulatory and administrative burden for both industry and government, and contributing to our national productivity.
Improvements will be co-designed and tested with industry. Everyone with an ATT seat at the table today is, or will likely be playing, an influential role in this agenda. Whether you're a small and medium enterprise, or our largest Trusted Trader.
Regulatory reform
And before I close, just a few words on regulatory reform.
To remain competitive, we must also continue to simplify customs processes and the regulatory burdens they put on businesses.
Which is why, under the Government's Simplified Trade System agenda, we are driving trade reform—through streamlined business processes, exploring emerging technology, and undertaking regulatory reform in consultation with industry.
Recently, we amended Customs legislation to deliver a priority Simplified Trade System reform initiative.
Customs amendments made earlier this year strengthen and modernise the administrative side of things. These amendments simplify and support the digitalisation of border processes, and improve the capability and effectiveness of the ABF in protecting Australia's borders.
We have strengthened Australia's customs licensing procedures, and reduced regulatory burdens for businesses that engage in international trade.
This legislative reform has been informed and supported by industry. And I thank those of you here today who have contributed to it.
Conclusion
Today's event showcases why it is so important for regulators to work with industry to get these settings right. Both through the ABFs numerous industry engagement, but especially through the ATT program.
Your insights are invaluable, operating as you do at very entry and exit point. Please be assured that we are genuine in our engagement, and confident that we share common objectives to build a more prosperous, productive economy while keeping the Australian community safe.
Congratulations to all of you who have achieved accreditation as Trusted Traders and thank you for the contribution you therefore make to keeping our supply chains and nation secure and enhancing productivity.