Seven suggestions for a smooth and speedy export process

In the 2017–18 financial year, the Export Assistance team oversaw the registration and processing of almost 20,000 products and 60,000 shipments.

Whether it’s due to a change in product details, modification to a shipment or to get help with the export process, Wine Australia receives many enquiries by phone and email. We’re as keen as you are to get your products processed and shipments sent, so we’ve come up with seven tips that help us, help you – but faster:

1. When contacting the team by email, always include your Exporter ID in the subject line – it helps us find prior correspondence that we’ve had with you.
2. Ensure that anyone who contacts Export Assistance is an authorised contact on your account – we respect your privacy and won’t discuss matters with anyone who isn’t listed.
3. If calling us with a question, have all relevant information on hand to save time – whether that’s your exporter ID, product IDs or continuing approval numbers (CANs), shipping permit (WBC number) or other shipping details.
4. Leave ample time – especially if you’re a new licence holder. Requests are actioned in the order that they are received, so in busy periods (e.g. around Chinese New Year), turnaround times may be longer. We require a minimum of five days’ notice of intent to export – if your shipper or freight forwarder has given you a cut-off date and time, we suggest allowing additional time on top of this.
5. If sending documents (for example labels or Label Integrity Program statements), attach them to your email (preferably as a pdf) rather than embedding them in the email body or providing a link to a third-party hosting service. This should stop your email being blocked by our spam filter.
6. Ensure you’ve reported the correct free on board (FOB) value for your shipment. In the Wine Export Approval (WEA) system we require the FOB value at the point of export from Australia; not the domestic invoice value, nor the CIF value. If you’re still not fully clear on this, let us know.
7. Ask. We’re always willing to assist you in navigating export requirements, so if you’re unsure about anything after reading through the export section on our website, get in touch.