Simplified Trade System Implementation Taskforce

The STS Taskforce is ensuring that Australia has a world-class cross-border trade environment, delivering the most significant trade reforms in more than a decade. Australia’s current cross-border trade environment is more complex and less efficient than it needs to be. Business face challenges navigating complicated and siloed import and export processes in government, as well as out-dated and duplicated regulations and ICT systems. This costs them time, effort and money and ultimately reduces Australia’s competitiveness on the global stage. The STS Taskforce, led by Mr Randall Brugeaud, is leading reforms that will make it easier to do business. The reforms will boost Australia’s economic recovery and growth by facilitating cross-border trade. The simplification of regulations, processes and systems will create opportunities to diversify markets and improve the overall resilience of supply chains. In 2021-22, the STS Taskforce delivered the first ever baseline of Australia’s current cross border-trade environment. This work was completed with support from business as well as Commonwealth government agencies. This baseline included a comprehensive review of Australia’s 200+ cross-border trade regulations and 145 ICT systems. The outcomes of this work are helping to inform and prioritise future whole-of-government cross-border trade reforms. The STS Taskforce is putting business at the centre of these reforms. Working closely with Australian businesses and with strategic guidance from the STS Industry Advisory Council, The STS Taskforce built a comprehensive understanding of the current cross-border trade environment and co-designed a possible future state. As part of this work, the STS Taskforce mapped the end-to-end journey for importers and exporters. This allowed pain points and opportunities for improvement to be identified.