Will the ‘budget neutral’ target lead to a doubling of visa application charges? It certainly looks set to increase and potentially by a great deal given that revenue collected is only about half of the cost of operations. The industry can only hope that with the expected cost increases, the efficiency, speed and quality of services of the department will also increase.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) has commenced a review into Australia's border-related fees, charges and taxes (Fees Review) on behalf of the Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Mr Scott Morrison said in a statement yesterday.

Outside the Australian Taxation Office the Immigration and Border Protection portfolio is the biggest ‘tax collector' in the country. Each year border agencies collect around $3 billion in revenue from border related fees and charges. This is in addition to the billions that are collected by border agencies in excises and other taxes according to Minister Morrison.

However operational costs run over $6 billion.

Minister Morrison said one of the aims of the review is to “ensure that wherever possible we recover the costs of facilitating the movement of goods and people, to avoid drawing further on the general taxpaying community.”

The Fees Review will be led by ACBPS in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

In recent years border fees and charges have increased by more than 120%. Charges for sponsored skilled visa and working holiday visa charges more than doubled. Partner visas also doubled and the cost of skilled graduate visas increased by over 500%.

The review will include industry consultation with opportunities for interested parties to make their views known to the Australian Government. Information on the Fees Review will be available at Joint Review of Border Fees, Charges and Taxes a dedicated webpage which will also provide an opportunity for public comments.

'We want to hear from those who travel and trade across the border on how we could improve the current charging regime. This is an opportunity to contribute ideas about how we might better share the cost burden of managing our border with industry and the community to enhance trade growth and boost Australia's economic prosperity,' Minister Morrison said.

The industry consultation process will commence with a request for written submissions, followed by targeted engagement with various industry groups over the coming months.

http://www.customs.gov.au/feesreview/