Sydney
A new National Border Targeting Centre will be established to target high-risk international passengers and cargo.
The advice of Australian law enforcement agencies is that intelligence and targeting is the key to seizing drugs and other contraband on the streets and at the border.
The National Border Targeting Centre will use an intelligence-led, risk-based approach to target high-risk international passengers and cargo.
85 per cent of seizures at the border are the result of intelligence developed by Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies in Australia and overseas.
The more intelligence that law enforcement agencies have, the more they can seize.
The National Border Targeting Centre is based on the model developed by the National Targeting Centre in the United States and the United Kingdom's National Border Targeting Centre.
It will provide the basis for co-locating agencies like:
· Australian Customs and Border Protection Service;
· Australian Federal Police;
· Australian Security Intelligence Organisation;
· Australian Crime Commission;
· Department of Foreign Affairs' Passports Office;
· Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; and
· Office of Transport Security.
The National Border Targeting Centre will also provide a basis for Customs and Border Protection to work more closely with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The new Centre will be able to work alongside targeting centres in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
As international trade and travel continues to grow, it will become increasingly important to share data, information and intelligence to target high risk passengers and goods crossing our borders.
Around 30 million passengers passed through our international airports in last year. That is expected to increase to 40 million by 2020.
Between now and 2020, sea container arrivals are expected to increase from around 2.2 million to more than five million. Air cargo consignments will increase from around 11 million to about 22 million.
The National Border Targeting Centre will improve the ability of all agencies to work together to identify and deal with the border risks posed by this massive increase in travellers and goods.
It will ensure border and law enforcement agencies have the information and intelligence they need to target threats to the border and the community.
The National Border Targeting Centre will be established in two stages.
Stage 1 - the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service will work with other federal agencies to expand information sharing and joint targeting efforts. This will build on the intelligence led border protection system that has led to more seizures of contraband than ever before in 2012.
Stage 2 - the National Border Targeting Centre will move into a dedicated facility where the resources of law enforcement agencies will be under one roof planning joint operations, sharing intelligence and undertaking investigations.