Australian Freight Councils Network

There are currently 11 Air and Sea Freight Councils operating in each State of Australia with a Freight Working Group operating in the Northern Territory. Councils were originally established to focus on improving logistics chains for the export of perishable products, however, their expertise and value-added has meant that they have expanded into non-perishable logistics chains.

The Councils provide a unique, industry driven forum that brings together over 400 key members of Australia's export logistics chain. The freight council networks link the key trade gateways to regional Australia and utilise the expertise of a wide cross section of export producers and logistics service providers. They are playing a significant role in the improvement of Australia's regional and urban logistics-chain performance.

National Focus

The provision of joint Commonwealth and State/Territory funding has underpinned a collective national focus for the Councils, which has reduced duplication across state boundaries while delivering important representation and support to SMEs involved in exporting and the freight logistics sector. The Councils are an effective source of advice to government and industry.

The key priorities for the AFCN are to:

• support informed logistics choices by improving the level of user access to reliable, accurate and up-to-date information
• deal with problems in the logistics chain and in turn provide practical solutions
• act as a conduit between industry and government for improved freight logistics
• bring a national perspective to projects

The Councils play an important role in the implementation of the Australian Logistics Industry Strategy.

Last Updated: 19 February, 2007.