COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
CEO INSTRUMENT OF APPROVAL No. 43 of 2002
CUSTOMS ACT 1901
I, LIONEL BARRIE WOODWARD, Chief Executive Officer of Customs, under section 4A and subsection 64ACA(8) of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act), hereby approve the attached “Electronic Reporting of Passengers – APP System” statement as the approved statement for the purposes of transmitting an electronic report on the passengers who will be on board an aircraft at the time of its arrival at an airport.
This statement only applies to the following kind of operators of – operators of aircraft that are on a flight provided as part of an airline service that is:
(i) provided for a fee payable by those using it;
(ii) provided in accordance with fixed schedules to or from fixed terminals over specific routes; and
(iii) available to the general public on a regular basis.
This statement is approved for use on and from 5 January 2003.
Dated: 4 December 2002
LIONEL BARRIE WOODWARD
Chief Executive Officer of Customs
ELECTRONIC REPORTING OF PASSENGERS – APP SYSTEM
APPROVED STATEMENT: SECTION 64ACA OF THE CUSTOMS ACT 1901
INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED
Item | Short Field Title | Description |
1. | Travel Document Number | The assigned number of an official identification document issued by a state or organisation to a person for the purpose of international travel. |
2. | Travel Document ICAO Country Code | A three letter code assigned by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to represent the states and organisations that issue travel documents, for use in these travel documents. |
3. | Family Name | Family name of passenger |
4. | Trans-border Flight | The flight number used by the operator of the air service on which a passenger will cross the Australian border. |
5. | Check-in Port | The port at which a passenger commences an international movement and at which advance passenger information for the passenger is collected. |
6. | Expected Port | The port at which a passenger will be cleared by Customs and Immigration for movement into Australia. This must be an Australian port. |
7. | Check-in Date | Check-in date and time used to locate passengers. The date will be supplied as Greenwich Mean Time. |
8. | Trans-border Port | The first port in Australia at which a passenger arrives when travelling to Australia. |
Overview
The Commonwealth of Australia enacted the "Electronic Reporting of Passengers – APP System" under the Customs Act 1901 to address the need for efficient and accurate transmission of passenger information for aircraft arriving in Australia. This legislative instrument, approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs in 2002, targets operators of aircraft providing airline services that are fee-based, operate on fixed schedules, and are accessible to the public on a regular basis. The policy objective is to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of passenger information, thereby facilitating smoother customs and immigration processes at Australian ports. The approved statement specifies the detailed information to be provided, including travel document details, flight specifics, and check-in and arrival port information, to ensure comprehensive electronic reporting of passengers.
Scope and Application
The Commonwealth of Australia's CEO Instrument of Approval No. 43 of 2002, under the Customs Act 1901, specifically targets operators of aircraft that provide commercial airline services that are paid, scheduled, and publicly accessible. This legislation pertains to the electronic reporting of passengers via the APP System, and it applies to those who operate flights as part of an airline service that meets the criteria of being fee-based, operating according to fixed schedules from designated terminals on specific routes, and being regularly available to the general public. The geographic reach of this legislation is national, as it pertains to flights crossing the Australian border and entering Australian ports. The Act does not specify exclusions or exemptions within the provided text, but it does detail the specific information that must be provided in the electronic report, including travel document numbers, ICAO country codes, passenger names, flight details, and check-in and arrival port information. The application of this Act may be extended or modified through subordinate instruments, as is common in Australian legislative frameworks.
Key Provisions
The legislative instrument approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs under section 4A and subsection 64ACA(8) of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) specifies the “Electronic Reporting of Passengers – APP System” statement as the approved method for transmitting electronic reports on passengers aboard aircraft arriving at Australian airports. This statement applies specifically to operators of aircraft involved in airline services that are fee-based, operate on fixed schedules, and are available to the general public on a regular basis (section 64ACA). The approved statement became effective from 5 January 2003.
The approved statement outlines the specific information that must be provided for each passenger in the electronic report. This includes the travel document number, the three-letter ICAO country code of the issuing state or organisation, the passenger's family name, the flight number used for trans-border travel, the check-in port, the expected port of arrival in Australia, the check-in date and time in Greenwich Mean Time, and the first Australian port of arrival (section 64ACA). This comprehensive data collection ensures that customs and immigration authorities have all necessary information to efficiently process passengers upon arrival.
Operators of aircraft must comply with the requirements of the approved statement by ensuring that all specified information is accurately reported in the electronic format. The obligation falls on the operators to collect and transmit the required passenger data to the relevant authorities in advance of the flight’s arrival at an Australian airport. This requirement is integral to facilitating smooth and secure border operations, as it allows for the advance processing of passenger information.
Breaches of the requirements set out in the approved statement may result in penalties under the Customs Act 1901. The Act provides for both civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance, which can include fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. The specifics of the penalties depend on the nature and severity of the breach, but the Act empowers Customs officers to take appropriate action to enforce compliance.