Centre for Customs and Excise Studies

02/09/2026

The World Customs Organization - Organisation Mondiale des Douanes, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific, Asian Development Bank, International Chamber of Commerce are organizing the Webinar on Digital Product Passport: Transforming Cross-Border Trade.

This webinar will explore how Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are reshaping paperless trade, traceability, and supply chain interoperability.

🎟️ Free registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rDEXvz4OSCaAUNtjVwDjlw #/registration

🔗 Details: https://www.unescap.org/events/2026/digital-product-passport-transforming-cross-border-trade

28/08/2026

Our August SUCCESS Update is now live.

Register for our webinar with Ricardo Trevino, mark INCU's international conference in your calendar, read our latest article in The Conversation Australia + NZ and hear about new subjects launching in 2027.

Our August Update is now out. Read Professor Lark's editorial in The Conversation, register for our 'In Conversation with Ricardo Trevino' webinar and INCU Global Conference and much more...

19/08/2026

CCES and the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) are pleased to present our upcoming webinar with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization - Organisation Mondiale des Douanes. This conversation with Ricardo will explore how the organization is thinking about the future, where it is focusing its efforts, and what these shifts may mean for customs leaders, practitioners and institutions worldwide. This event is free however registrations are essential via: https://charlessturt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y6H9E2mnQOif_FmbMAKyjQ

19/08/2026

CCES at Charles Sturt University is proud to showcase the work of Professor Amber Lark (PhD), whose research is helping reshape how Australia responds to one of the most confronting frontier issues in border security and child protection.

Professor Lark, alongside colleagues from The University of Queensland and UNSW, has partnered directly with Australian Border Force to better understand the importation, detection and classification of child-like s*x dolls at Australia's border.

Their work, recently published in The Conversation Australia + NZ, argues that these interceptions should be treated not merely as customs seizures, but as early warning signals, opportunities to identify escalating offending behaviours before a child is harmed.

By translating complex forensic and criminological insights into practical guidance for border officials, Professor Lark and her colleagues reinforce CCES and CSU's reputation as genuine partners to government on the issues that matter most.

It’s illegal to import or possess them, but child-like s*x dolls can be bought online. Each seizure is an opportunity to prevent real child s*x abuse.

05/08/2026

The International Network of Customs Universities INCU's Regional Conference will now be held on 23-25 November 2026 in Shanghai, China. For more information, please reach out via [email protected]
for more information.

The INCU Summer School hosted by the Shanghai Customs University will be proceeding as originally planned from 10-21 August. Information and registration can be downloaded from www.incu.org

05/08/2026

Last week, two of CCES's postgraduate research candidates made the trip out to the NSW countryside, home of Professor Amber Lark (PhD), CCES's Director of Research & Forensic Victimologist, for some hands-on thesis feedback and progress check-ins.

Associate Professor Mark Harrison is deep into his thesis "The codification of exports under international law: do we need a new convention?" tackling a question that sits right at the intersection of trade law and international policy.

Gabrielle Sivertsen is progressing her thesis "The mentally ill homicide perpetrator as an invisible victim: a victimological and historical analysis of the New South Wales Public Mental Health System (2000–2026)" an important, challenging piece of work examining how our mental health systems intersect with victimology and justice.

Laptops open, coffee poured, and a very large (and very happy) supervisor on duty, Amber's Great Dane, Bob Marley, kept everyone company through the chilly countryside mornings.

24/06/2026

International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) Global Conference Postponement Notice

"Smart Customs and Data Governance" · Shanghai Customs University

Due to ongoing international travel disruptions, the INCU Global Conference, originally scheduled for 10–12 August 2026, has been postponed.

A revised date will be confirmed and communicated to all interested parties as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

If you have already submitted a paper proposal or registered your interest, please be assured that all submissions remain valid for the rescheduled event. Further updates will be provided in due course.

For enquiries, please contact the INCU Secretariat at [email protected]

09/06/2026

Congratulations to the Oceania Customs Organisation on a standout Annual Conference in Fiji last week.

On day two of the conference, Professor David Widdowson joined customs and border leaders to tackle a critical challenge: how to keep trade moving while managing risk.

His message was clear; strengthening trade security requires bold action through trusted trader programs, smarter compliance incentives, regional collaboration, and technology-driven innovation.

As global trade grows more complex, these conversations matter more than ever.

02/06/2026

The electronic ATA Carnet system (eATA), the digital version of the internationally recognised customs document for temporary duty-free admission of goods, has gone live across thirty countries. The eATA has been developed by the International Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the World Customs Organization - Organisation Mondiale des Douanes

ICC’s digital ATA Carnet system (eATA) goes live on 1 June, beginning the transition from paper-based carnets to an ICC-developed digital system across 30 countries comprising 27 European Union member states, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

01/06/2026

CCES's May 2026 Update is now out.

Staying aligned in turbulent times discussion, INCU's Global Conference, Green Customs CoP and Semester Two registrations now open.

https://mailchi.mp/csu/success-update-may-2026