Lighthouse Agencies Pty Ltd

I hope you find our site informative and useful. There are a variety of links to web sites related to our area of commerce, under "BUSINESS LINKS". This list is by no means comprehensive - our aim is to incorporate links to the main sites that our clients and other visitors to this site might find helpful. The new link "Resources & Documents" will take you to a page where documents or other resources our clients may find useful, such as sample AQIS packing declarations. We are happy to consider linking requests from service providers and suppliers of information services to the Customs and freight forwarding industries. Please contact the Webmaster for further information.

If you have an enquiry about importing to, or exporting from, Australia, please contact us. We provide a wide range of import and export related services, and can provide assistance starting from your initial planning stages through to delivery of the goods on arrival.

NEW (28 June, 2010)

In May, 2010, the Sydney Ports Corporation presented industry with an overview of it's plan for improving the throughput of containers at Port Botany. A copy of the overview document can be found on our "Resources & Documents" page.

Sydney Ports Corporation has scrapped their earlier announced plan to introduce a Peak Pricing charge, and instead the ongoing costs of the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy ("PBLIS") solution will be funded by a AU$10.00 per container increase in the wharfage charge levied on FULL import and export containers.

The NSW Government intends to introduce new regulations to force the stevedores and transport operators to cooperate with the introduction of the planned reforms. Sydney Ports Corporation had hoped the major players and stakeholders would be able to sort out there problems without the need for regulation, however, they have conceded that regulation seems to be the only way there will be any reform.

The regulations are planned for introduction during the third quarter of 2010, and it is anticipated the PBLIS reform process will be in full swing by the fourth quarter of 2010. One of the major points of the new system will involve a new Operational Performance Management ("OPM") between stevedores and transport carriers, that will include performance benchmarks for BOTH stevedores and truck carriers. There will be a penalty system in place for both the stevedores and the truck carriers where they do not meet the specified benchmarks.

While this is a good thing overall, as the stevedores are finally on notice that lack of performance will cost them financially, the regulations will create issues in other areas. For example, at the moment the stevedores have the option of not penalising a truck carrier where a truck doesn't arrive for it's scheduled time slot (such as delays caused by Sydney's notoriously bad peak hour traffic which gets worse as each year passes - look at what happened when the M5 tunnel was suddenly closed to morning peak hour traffic recently by an accident, which is an all too common scenario), the stevedores will not have that same ability under the regulations currently proposed. It is to be hoped the NSW Government will build in some sort of flexibility to allow for late arrivals due to circumstances beyond the control of the truck operators, and similarly for circumstances beyond the control of the stevedores if they are found to have fallen short of a specified benchmark.

As one reporter has said "The current PBLIS strategy has already made a major concession to transporters, by putting the peak period pricing regime on the back burner. With clear, measurable and enforceable operational performance management standards, the current plan gives as much certainty to both parties as is humanly possible under the circumstances.

As for the M5 tunnel, allow an extra three hours and take a good book - something of "War and Peace" proportions."

Fun Stuff

The links under "IRC" are provided for entertainment purposes. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a real-time live multi-user messaging service, superior in concept to the plethora of instant messenger (IM) services that have proliferated across the internet. Whereas IM's are primarily one-on-one chat services, IRC is a facility where a group can gather in the one place, from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night, to discuss issues and share information. Moreover, a properly run IRC service is a safer environment for youngsters to be chatting, as the chat rooms are monitored by real people, unlike IM's where there is NO monitoring or control. If you're a parent I'm sure you will appreciate the added safety net such monitoring provides to protect the unwary from the nefarious activities of "internet predators" (e.g., paedophiles). If you would like more information, click on the "Chat Now" link and once connected, ask to speak to one of the network administrators.

The "OTHER LINKS" section provides links to other web sites that might be of interest to you. Please feel free to browse. Again, we are happy to consider requests to add links to other web sites. As noted above, please contact the Webmaster for further information.