Programs and procedures

Defence is committed to working with exporters to help them fulfil their responsibilities under Australia’s export control legislation. Exporters must:

• apply for approval from Defence before undertaking controlled activities (i.e. activities subject to Australia’s export controls)
• provide accurate information to Defence in the course of an application
• conduct activities in accordance with the terms of permits, licences or broker registrations issued by Defence
• handle, store and transfer goods in accordance with prescribed conditions
• maintain detailed and accurate records
• report transfers to Defence where required by a permit condition
• pre-notify via the My Australian Defence Exports portal exports or supply if utilising the Australia, United Kingdom and United States licence-free environment
• advise Defence of any changes in circumstances that may affect broker registrations, permits or licences.

Fulfilling these responsibilities requires a commitment by exporters to develop their understanding of how Australia’s export controls system applies to their activities. It is also important for exporters to pay careful attention to conditions applied to their permits.

Export control compliance policies and procedures

There are a number of other measures which an organisation may wish to adopt in establishing and implementing effective compliance policies and procedures. The key to establishing proper compliance for an entity is an awareness of export controls and record-keeping principles, and translating those requirements into simple processes to follow as part of business as usual.

An Export Control Compliance Program (ECCP) is recommended for organisations who regularly require permits, to ensure they follow best practice for compliance. An ECCP typically includes a set of procedures an organisation's employees or members must follow before any controlled activities (like export or supply) take place.

Structure and responsibility

An effective ECCP could designate an area of the organisation to hold operational responsibility for export control compliance. Organisations may choose to establish a stand-alone unit or assign additional export control responsibilities to an existing position or positions. This unit or position is referred to in this guidance as the export control compliance area.

An organisation's export control compliance area may be tasked with the responsibility to:

• develop, implement, maintain and improve export control compliance policies and procedures which are endorsed by senior representatives of the organisation and promoted to all employees and members
• ensure employees or members are aware of their own export control compliance responsibilities and of the internal policies and processes for compliance within their organisation
• provide regular export control compliance training to employees or members and record training completion
• remain informed and up-to-date with current export control laws, regulations, directions or guidance from Defence, and communicate updates to employees or members
• centralise export-related questions and issues through the export control compliance area to enable it to act as a conduit between the organisation and Defence
• establish a regular audit system to confirm that the export control compliance policy and procedures are implemented appropriately and are compliant with relevant Australian laws and regulations, including record-keeping requirements
• report export control compliance audit results to senior representatives and take corrective action if and as required
• institute procedures for employees or members to identify and manage suspected non-compliance with export control laws.

An effective system of export controls compliance assists organisations in avoiding delays in project delivery, unanticipated costs associated with supply chain issues, or damage to business relationships and reputation.

Export screening procedures

Export control compliance areas can develop procedures to establish whether the goods, software or technology are controlled (e.g. listed on the Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL)), and whether the export, brokering, supply or provision of services requires a permit. The DSGL self-help tool help to determine if items are subject to export controls and whether the export/supply/ provision of service/brokering activity requires a permit.

An organisation's policies and procedures should include due diligence measures to help it establish whether it is dealing with legitimate end users who will use the exported or supplied items for legitimate purposes. This principle is sometimes referred to as ‘know your customer'

Exporters should take reasonable steps to screen consignees, end users, and overseas collaborators to establish, as far as possible, that the goods, software or technology will be used for legitimate purposes. This could be done by checking that the goods, software or technology are consistent with the stated end-use and compatible with the recipient's business, and that no other red flags are raised.

Resources

Red flags infographic (PDF, 582.95 KB)

Key features of an effective internal DEC compliance program (PDF, 481.69 KB)

How to submit a DEC compliance report (video, 3:01 minutes)

Identifying red flags (video, 6:26 minutes)