Terminal Access Charges & Empty Container Park Fees
Supply Chain Unchained
From $3.50 to over $200 per container in 15 years. What’s driving the rise in port fees, who’s fighting back, and what can importers actually do about it?
If you’ve noticed your landside logistics costs creeping up year after year, terminal access charges and empty container park fees are likely a big part of why. In this episode, Greg sits down with Tom Jensen from the Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA) to break down exactly what these fees are, where they came from, how they’ve grown, and what the industry is doing to push back.
With a major announcement expected in November on fee changes taking effect January 1, this is essential listening for anyone moving containerised freight in Australia.
What We Cover
- What terminal access charges (TACs) are and why they were introduced around 2010
- How TACs went from $3.50 per container to over $200, a 100x increase in 15 years
- Why the fees spiked heavily from 2017 onward, and what that tells us about the lack of regulation
- The voluntary pricing protocol introduced by the Victorian government, how it works and why it isn’t enough
- How all major Melbourne terminals are now aligned to a January 1 fee increase cycle, and what to expect this November
- Empty container park fees: what they are, how they started as a $5.50 notification fee and now average $120 nationally (up to $250 in Sydney)
- Why industry is collectively paying over $630 million per year in terminal access charges nationally
- The Productivity Commission review, the ACCC monitoring reports, and why a mandatory code has been recommended but not yet enacted
- The August 2025 Infrastructure and Transport Ministers meeting, and what it means for national reform
- What importers and freight forwarders can actually do right now, including container triangulation via companies like Matchbox Exchange
Guest
Tom Jensen
Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA)
Industry lobby group representing freight forwarders and shippers across Australia
LinkedIn →
“Since 2017 the graph is quite staggering. The voluntary pricing protocol has been a tried and tested failure in terms of having any rates reduced at any time.”
Tom Jensen, Freight and Trade Alliance
