Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) would like to advise members that Transport Ministers have approved the new National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedore and Empty Container Park Charges, developed by the National Transport Commission (NTC). 

Key requirements 

Under the new Guidelines, participating stevedores and ECP operators are expected to: 

• limit changes to existing charges, and the introduction of new charges, to once per year on 1 January, or the next business day. 
• provide a Notice of Intention at least 60 calendar days before implementation. 
• publish current and proposed prices, including the percentage increase. 
• provide detailed reasoning for the proposed change, including relevant investments, cost drivers, benefits and beneficiaries. 
• provide stakeholders with at least 21 calendar days to submit feedback. 
• issue a Final Confirmation Notice 30 calendar days before implementation, including a summary of consultation themes, the operator's response to feedback and any resulting changes. 

Importantly, the Guidelines define the reasoning supporting a price change as including not only what the change is and why it is proposed, but also whether the change will have an adverse effect on container supply chain productivity. 

The Guidelines apply to charges levied on transport operators by stevedores and ECPs, including ECPs affiliated with intermodal terminals. Where existing state or territory requirements are inconsistent with the national Guidelines, the relevant state or territory requirements will continue to prevail. 

For ECPs, notification system providers are also requested to support minimum notification periods within their systems and provide prompts encouraging ECP operators to consider the Guidelines when activating price changes. 

Members can access the National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedore and Empty Container Park Charges via the NTC Publications page. 

FTA/APSA advocacy and position 

FTA/APSA welcomes the release of the Guidelines as a positive step in nationally recognising the need for greater transparency, consistency and predictability in landside charging practices. 

As outlined in our March 2026 submission to the NTC, FTA/APSA supported the inclusion of ECPs within the national framework and a single annual implementation date as practical procedural safeguards. However, we also made clear that improved transparency, consultation and advance notice do not, of themselves, address the underlying issue of escalating landside charges. 

Experience with the Victorian Voluntary Pricing Protocol reinforces this concern. While the Victorian arrangements have improved transparency and notice periods, our submission highlighted that they have not restrained price escalation. 

FTA/APSA therefore maintains the position advanced through our submission that voluntary guidelines do not go far enough to address the underlying market structure. Our preferred reform remains that Terminal Access Charges and ECP notification fees should not be imposed directly on transport operators, with these costs instead recovered from the commercial customer, wherever feasible. 

Where this reform is not adopted, FTA/APSA supports stronger regulatory oversight of landside charges, including enforceability, monitoring and consequences. Our submission also called for a mandatory national code overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), consistent with Productivity Commission recommendations, as part of the broader reform required to address unjustified landside cost increases. 

Further Information

National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedore and Empty Container Park Charges
FTA/APSA member update and submission to the NTC - March 2026 
FTA/APSA Submission - Updating the National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedore Charges and Expansion to Empty Container Park Charges(PDF)