Governments across the globe seem to be getting out of their comfort zone and moving towards digitalization. Australia seems to be taking the lead on this one. The government revealed that it had been probing the prospects of blockchain technology specifically for inter-government document exchange with Singapore. The Australian Border Force [ABF] has reportedly been spearheading the development of the same.
Australia Rolls Out Solutions To Aid Convenient Cross Border Trade
As reported by a news portal, the Australian Border Force [ABF] had reportedly rolled out a trial to test digital verification systems on blockchain tech. This was carried out by ABF in collaboration with Singapore Customs and Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). The agency revealed that this first of its kind system was formulated at the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) by experts from Singapore and Australia.
Several platforms from Australia as well as Singapore are said to be a part of the trial. These platforms include the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group, ANZ along with financial institutions in Singapore. This trial will reportedly test the digital verification platforms for electronic trade documents across ABF-developed Intergovernmental Ledger (IGL) and IMDA’s TradeTrust.
The Commissioner of ABF, Michael Outram spoke about its latest collaboration and said,
“The ABF welcomes the opportunity to collaborate further with Singapore to improve cross-border trade between our countries. In addition to our efforts internationally, this initiative will incorporate paperless trading and secure, digital exchange of trade information as part of the future architecture and design of an Australian Trade Single Window”.
The aforementioned platforms part of the trial will reportedly deliver their feedback on the system. Their experience in verifying the certificates of origin prioritizing administration costs reduction as well as a boost in trade efficiency would be noted. This would further be delivered to the Supply Chain Working Group’s Discovery Report under the National Blockchain Roadmap that has been carried out by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources.
Australia has made it clear that the country has an inclination towards adopting blockchain technology. Australia has been making a lot of news with regard to the incorporation of blockchain tech. Back in September, the Australian government announced that it was allocating a whopping $6.9 million to explore the potentials of blockchain tech. This was further followed by a major Australian mango producer employing blockchain tech to track mangoes.
