Consultation to inform options for implementing the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records in Australia

No

Cheques - a lot less common these days but primarily used for the payment of freight forwarder and/or shipping line charges to receive the Delivery Order required for the collection of cargo. Phasing out due to ease of bank transfers. businesses will often charge a fee for accepting cheques.

Consignment Notes - the paper document created by the consignor that accompanied goods in delivery, containing shipment particulars such as sender, receiver, order numbers, goods description, quantities, container number etc. Would often serve as a receipt of delivery when signed by the receiving party. Used in lieu of electronic PDA/signing devices.

Bills of Lading - up until COVD, these were still very common. Freight forwarders and shipping lines demanded original bills of lading, plus payment of charges owing before the release of cargo to the consignee. Provided protection to the original goods owner (consignor) - releasing original BL's to the consignee only after receipt of payment or undertaking to make payment. Provided protection to freight forwarders and shipping lines, as the original BL served as a document of title and surrendering the document allowed release of the cargo (delivery order). Details on the bill of lading are still very important for customs brokers who use the information to create an import declaration. The shipped onboard date or date of the document is used as the customs valuation date in most instances.

Air waybills - for customs brokers and freight forwarders, it is used in a similar fashion to a bill of lading (original or waybill) as it gave all the shipment particulars needed for the movement of the cargo by an airline and the information is used to create an import declaration. The major difference is that it is not a negotiable document. The 'original' AWB always physically travels with the freight and is handed over to the consignee or their service provider upon arrival and usually after payment of charges owing.

Letters of Credit - often used for first time transactions between parties or when the transaction may be deemed as high risk. The letter of credit is required by service providers who prepare shipping documents on behalf of traders. The requirements of the LC need to followed precisely in order for the documents to be compliant and the LC released by the bank.

Ships Delivery Orders - more common these days for EDO's (Electronic Delivery Orders), however, they are still used by transport companies who take the container details and PIN from the DO to arrange collection of the container from the terminal.

In 2022, I would spend 100 hours per year on paper transferable records.

Employee, printing, courier expenses: $3100 PA

Cheques, consignment notes, bills of lading, Delivery Orders, as per above, Employee, printing, couriers: 100 hours

Cheques, consignment notes, bills of lading, Delivery Orders, as per above, Employee, printing, courier expenses: $3100 PA

Reducing international courier fees and times plus reduced domestic transfer of the documents must lower costs.

Paper bills of lading are still transacted globally and must be handled accordingly.

https://fiata.org/digital-bill-of-lading/

The same constraints apply to domestic transferable records so I do not see a problem including other non-international trade documents.

I expect this to be explored in greater detail by the STS Unit. However, the basics should be:
* authentication (knowing who the message is from)
* integrity (knowing it has not been tampered with)
* non-repudiation (knowing that the sender cannot deny having sent it)

According to UNCITRAL, legislation based on or influenced by the Model Law has been adopted in 10 States and a total of 10 jurisdictions. Included on that list are economies of considerable size such as France, United Kingdon, United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi Global Market) and Singapore. Japan is another significant trading partner that is considering its own legislative reforms related to MLETR. The adoption of MLETR by these countries suggests that Australia’s adoption of the MLETR would further enhance the enabling of an internationally interoperable legal framework for electronic transferable records.

The legality of electronic transferable records in other international jurisdictions would need to be considered and further explored with the international trading entities in advance.
However, does Article 17 paragraph 3 allow for converting back to paper documents?
If understood correctly, the MLETR does not require any person to use electronic transferable records – it only confirms that a person may choose to use electronic transferable records if they so desire – and accordingly trade participants may continue to use traditional paper records where there is no alternative. BUT should be allowed even when an alternative exists.