Aims and Objectives.
- A dedicated border
protection Association
- No political alignment
– independent and self determining
- Greater participation
in agency decisions
- Career paths
- Border protection
– multiple agencies or a single border agency?
The COA aims to provide all Customs Officers with a self determining
employment Association dedicated to the needs, rights and entitlements
of members. The objective is for officers to have a staff Association
primarily dedicated to border protection law enforcement functions. To
that end, the COA will make application in 2005 to lift the limitations
imposed by the Industrial Commission (AIRC) which currently impedes the
Association from signing up new members.
Our objective is to establish a strong union organised appropriately
to meet the needs of officers involved in border protection. A union focussed
on border protection is a specialist union. Customs Officers involved
in Law enforcement functions are more akin to police functions than to
general public service functions. No other Government agency requires
a considerable number of its staff to be armed, involved in criminal investigations,
to make arrests or to work in close cooperation with the police or military
forces. Therefore these specialist border functions deserve a specialist
union. A border protection union would provide localised skills and knowledge
to enable it to maximise it effort for members and to maximise their effect
at the border. The COA aim is to draw together border protection officers
so as to concentrate our efforts for the mutual benefits of members and
the public.
The COA is not politically aligned and it is our resolve to be free to
take whatever action is deemed proper in the interest of members and the
public whom we serve.
We seek to promote, improve and protect the interests of our members
and to advance their conditions of employment. To that end, we question
the adequacy of the recruitment, selection and training of staff and the
questionable practice of allocating under-trained staff to particular
work. We also seek to address issues of safety, protection, proper facilities
and suitable equipment which are sometimes neglected by Customs management.
The COA aims to ensure that Customs Officers participate in policies,
practices and procedures that affect them. At present Officers have little
or no effective, fair or ready access to policy or procedural development.
Employee participation is sadly lacking and there is a tangible barrier
between management and officers. Our objective is to overcome these barriers
by negotiation preferably or by more strident measures if management persist
with their current exclusionary practices.
Underpinning the employment situation of most members and most Customs
Officers is a commitment to Border Protection. Career paths, skills, professionalism,
qualifications and job satisfaction rate highly as objectives of the Association
and its members. The commitment of officers/members is inextricably linked
to a border protection career path. Our aim is to ensure that Border Protection
officers have a professionally recognised and clearly defined career path
in border protection law enforcement.
Determining the best form of border protection is high on the objectives
list of the COA. The current border protection arrangement of multiple
agencies with disparate training, recruitment and modes of operation is
clearly not the best possible arrangement. The aim is to create a proper
debate on border protection to analyse the best possible solution and
to advance that solution in the interest of members and the public.
Last Modified October 2005
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