The National Transport Commission (NTC) is going live with public consultation on proposed updates to the National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedoring Charges this month.
The NTC was directed by the government, via the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting in August last year, to include a new requirement in the National Voluntary Guidelines that stevedore operators implement price changes annually on January 1.
In the opening statement of the NTC consultation paper, it says it is expected this change, which would also be aimed at empty container park operators, “will improve the transparency of landside pricing and charging behaviour and help to maximise productivity and improve efficiency of Australia’s container freight supply chains”.
The NTC would like to hear from:
- Stevedore operators
- Empty container park operators in particular:
- Port and intermodal infrastructure operators
- Land transport operators who transport containerised freight
- Cargo owners who use operators containerised freight
- Industry associations and representatives of participants in these State and territory governments and agencies
- Economic regulatory authorities
It is proposed that these new guidelines will apply to charges levied on transport operators by stevedores and empty container parks, including those affiliated with intermodal terminals.
Based on the current timelines, and subject to approval by ITMM, the guidelines are proposed to be implemented from 1 January 2027.
The existing National Voluntary Guidelines have been in place since 2022 and provide clear protocols for notification and communication of increases to existing charges, or the introduction of new charges levied on transport operators for access to pick up or drop off containers at Australian ports.
The full consultation paper sets out the proposed updates, including changes intended to improve transparency, predictability and consultation processes across the containerised freight supply chain, while remaining non-regulatory in nature.
Consultation is open until Friday 13 March 2026.
More information, including the consultation paper and details on how to make a submission, is available on the NTC’s project page (https://www.ntc.gov.au/project/updating-national-voluntary-guidelines-landside-stevedoring-charges).