24 CustomsPty Ltd

24 September 2026 · carriers · container holds · biosecurity · importing basics

Container held by customs in Australia: what clears it

A container held by customs in Australia shows the status HELD in the Integrated Cargo System. It means something is stopping release: a cargo report error, an import declaration that is missing or unpaid, an Australian Border Force examination, or a biosecurity requirement from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The terminal will not hand the container over until the status reads CLEAR.

By Eric Dao, Licensed Customs Broker, General Manager, 24 Customs. Reviewed by Nathan Hanson, Co-founder and Customs Manager. Last reviewed September 2026. Rules change; check the linked official sources before acting.

I started in this industry driving a courier van, so I write this for the person who feels a hold first: the transport operator with a truck booked, a driver rostered and a client asking where the freight is. In peak season, with vessels bunching and terminals full, a lost slot is hard to replace.

What HELD means in the Integrated Cargo System

Every import consignment carries a consolidated status in the Integrated Cargo System (ICS), the Australian Border Force (ABF) system for cargo reports and import declarations. Three of the statuses in the ABF’s guide matter to a carrier.

Status What ABF says it means What it means for the truck
CLEAR The consignment is clear of all impediments and may be released Book the slot and collect
CONDCLEAR The cargo may be released after certain conditions have been met, for example an approved movement or an approved fumigation It can move, but only to the premises named in the condition
HELD After the screening period expires, there is an impediment to the release of the cargo Leave the truck in the yard

Two details in that guide are worth knowing. The screening period starts when the cargo report is lodged and runs 24 hours for sea cargo and 2 hours for air cargo. An amended cargo report triggers a fresh 2-hour re-screening.

The guide also warns that it must not be assumed a border agency is causing the HELD status. The ABF’s own example of a hold is a voyage number reported incorrectly. Some holds are data problems, and data problems have owners who can fix them.

What a HELD status does to your truck booking

Container terminals in Australia book truck arrivals through the 1-Stop Vehicle Booking System (VBS). 1-Stop publishes what each container status in VBS means. “Clear” means all holds on the container have been lifted. “Customs, Held” means there is a customs impediment on the container, and 1-Stop’s examples are duty not paid, a customs hold and an X-ray hold.

A truck sent against a held container comes back empty. The slot and the driver’s hours are spent, and when terminals are full the next slot may not be close. Meanwhile the shipping line’s clock keeps counting. Maersk’s published Australian tariff counts free time in calendar days, weekends included, and puts a 40-foot dry container at A$200 a day once free time ends.

The five usual causes, who owns each, and what clears it

What is causing the HELD status Who owns the fix What clears it
Cargo report problem: wrong voyage number, a house bill that is not linked to the ocean bill, or a screening period still running The cargo reporter, usually the shipping line or the freight forwarder A corrected cargo report, then a 2-hour re-screening
No import declaration lodged, or duty, GST and the import processing charge unpaid The importer and their customs broker The declaration lodged in the ICS and the amounts paid
ABF risk assessment or examination, including X-ray at a Container Examination Facility The ABF Completion of the examination. Nobody outside the ABF controls the timing
Biosecurity: documents under assessment, an inspection, or a treatment directed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) The broker, working with DAFF Compliant documents, an inspection booked through the Biosecurity Portal, or the directed treatment carried out
A permit or approval the goods needed before they shipped The importer The permit, where one can still be obtained

Rows one, two and four are paperwork, and in our experience delays almost always trace to missing or incorrect documents. A packing declaration with the wrong container number or a treatment certificate from a provider DAFF does not recognise produces a hold that was preventable before the vessel berthed. Our packing declaration guide covers the most common one, and the free templates carry the department’s approved wording.

Biosecurity season adds to the list. DAFF’s brown marmorated stink bug measures apply to target goods shipped between 1 September and 30 April, judged by the shipped on board date on the ocean bill of lading. Target high risk goods need mandatory treatment, and DAFF states that containers carrying a certificate from an unregistered treatment provider will be directed for onshore treatment. That is a hold, and it lands in the busiest months of the year.

What your client’s broker can tell you, and what the law stops them saying

This is the part most guides leave out. Cargo status information is restricted information under the Customs Act 1901. Section 233BABAF(3) makes it an offence to disclose it without authority, with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, 120 penalty units, or both.

The ABF publishes a table of what it treats as acceptable disclosure in the ordinary course of business. For a customs broker dealing with a transport company, it says this:

  • A broker may give a transport company engaged to move the goods the consolidated status, CLEAR or HELD, and the details required for the effective movement of the goods.
  • A broker may give a transport company with no established connection to the goods only publicly available information.
  • A broker may not tell anyone, the importer included, that a container is subject to examination at a Container Examination Facility or is being examined by the ABF.

So when a broker says “it is held and I cannot say more”, that can be the law talking. The answer you get also depends on the broker knowing you are the engaged carrier. My view, and I hold it firmly: a carrier should know the name and after-hours number of the broker on every import job before the vessel berths. A client who cannot tell you who their broker is has handed you their risk.

What to do when a container shows HELD

  1. Confirm the status with the broker and ask which of the five causes above applies. As the engaged carrier you are entitled to the status and to what you need to move the box.
  2. Keep the truck off the slot. Check your terminal’s rules for changing or cancelling the booking so a no-show is not recorded against you.
  3. If the cause is the cargo report, the fix sits with the shipping line or forwarder. Ask the broker to chase it, and allow for the 2-hour re-screening after the amendment.
  4. If the cause is the declaration or payment, it sits with the broker and importer, and it can be fixed outside office hours because the ICS takes electronic lodgements at any hour.
  5. If the cause is biosecurity, ask whether DAFF wants documents, an inspection or a treatment. Inspections are booked through DAFF’s Biosecurity Portal, and a conditional clearance may limit where the container can go.
  6. If the broker can only say it is held, assume an ABF examination and plan for a wait that nobody can shorten.
  7. Tell your client early what the delay does to storage and detention. Rebook the moment the status turns CLEAR.

Why pre-arrival lodgement is the fix

The ABF’s import declaration manual says a declaration may be lodged at any time before the ship carrying the goods first arrives in Australia. Its cargo reporter guidance sets the sea cargo report at 48 hours before the vessel’s estimated arrival, and the screening period is 24 hours. A broker who has the documents can therefore lodge, see the status settle, and deal with a documentary hold while the container is still at sea. We work this way at 24 Customs wherever the documents allow, which is why we ask for paperwork early.

A worked example

This is a composite example with illustrative figures. No real shipment or client is described.

A 40-foot container of flat-pack furniture is due into Port Botany on a Monday in October. The carrier has a 6am Tuesday slot. The vessel berths early on Saturday. On Saturday afternoon the status reads HELD: DAFF’s document assessment has found that the packing declaration quotes the wrong container number.

With a broker working that weekend, the corrected declaration is requested on Saturday, arrives Sunday night and is submitted straight away. The status turns CLEAR on Monday and the Tuesday slot stands.

With a broker who opens at 8.30am Monday, the request goes out Monday, the correction arrives Tuesday and the container clears Wednesday. The Tuesday slot is lost, and if free time has run out the line charges A$200 a day for a 40-foot box under Maersk’s published tariff. Same paperwork error, two days apart.

FAQ

What does HELD mean in the Integrated Cargo System?

HELD is a consolidated cargo status. The ABF’s guide says that after the screening period expires, HELD indicates an impediment to the release of the cargo. The cause can be a cargo report error, a missing or unpaid import declaration, an ABF examination or a biosecurity requirement. The ABF warns that a border agency should not be assumed to be the cause.

Can a customs broker tell me why a container is held?

Partly. Under the ABF’s disclosure guidance, a broker may tell a transport company engaged to move the goods whether the status is CLEAR or HELD, plus the details needed to move them. A broker may not tell anyone that a container is being examined by the ABF. Unauthorised disclosure is an offence under section 233BABAF(3) of the Customs Act 1901.

How long does a customs hold last in Australia?

There is no fixed period. A cargo report correction clears after a 2-hour re-screening. A declaration or payment problem clears as soon as it is fixed, at any hour. A biosecurity hold lasts until DAFF accepts the documents or the inspection or treatment is done. An ABF examination takes as long as the ABF needs, and no broker can speed it up.

Can I collect a container that shows Customs Held in 1-Stop?

No. 1-Stop describes “Customs, Held” as a customs impediment on the container, such as duty not paid, a customs hold or an X-ray hold. The terminal will not release it, so a truck sent to the slot returns empty. Wait for the status to read Clear, or for a conditional clearance that names where the container may go.

Does a customs hold stop container detention and storage charges?

Assume it does not. Maersk’s Australian tariff counts free time in calendar days and lists public holidays as the only extension. Who finally bears the cost depends on the contracts between the importer, the forwarder and the carrier, so raise it with your client the day the hold appears.

What is a Letter of Authority, and does a carrier need one?

The importer signs it to appoint a customs broker. Carriers sign nothing, and a carrier whose client has appointed a broker gets faster answers. Our FAQ covers it at 24customs.com.au/faq, and the template is on the Letter of Authority page.

Where 24 Customs fits

We lodge pre-arrival wherever the documents allow, we check the biosecurity paperwork before the vessel berths, and a licensed broker answers 1300 247 019 at any hour, weekends included. Transport companies and freight forwarders use us as the brokerage desk behind their own service, through customs clearance and quarantine and biosecurity work for their clients.

If your trucks wear the cost of other people’s paperwork, talk to us about a brokerage partnership. Call 1300 247 019 or send an enquiry.

Sources

All checked 21 September 2026.