Centre for Customs and Excise Studies

14/10/2026

Export controls now span multiple jurisdictions. Can manual screening keep up?

At the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) International Conference in Shanghai this November, Yingzhi Z. Solution Specialist at S&P Global, and Byron McKinney, Senior Director at Dow Jones, will explore how data and technology can help companies manage export control compliance.

Expect practical answers to questions like:
✔️ How does China’s Export Control Law and the US EAR change compliance for corporates?
✔️ Where does machine learning, knowledge graphs and RAG systems fit?
✔️ Should you build in-house capability or partner with a vendor?
✔️ How can licences be reconciled with sales orders, shipments and customs declarations?

Between them they bring more than 35 years of experience in trade, shipping and risk. Their message is that outdated screening methods are no longer enough, and that better data is the starting point.

👉 Register at www.incu.org
📍 Pudong, Shanghai | 📅 November 23-26

09/10/2026

Free trade agreements promise lower duties, but only if you can prove where your goods come from. For manufacturers with complex supply chains, that is easier said than done.

At the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) International Conference in Shanghai this November, Sylwia Nowak MSc, Customs & Trade Compliance specialist and published author in the World Customs Journal, will explore how businesses can automate origin calculations without compromising compliance.

Expect practical answers to questions like:
✔️ Where do ERP systems, customs software and supplier declarations fit in?
✔️ What happens when one supplier's paperwork breaks the chain?
✔️ Can emerging tech like blockchain help, or is it too early?
✔️ When is automation worth the investment, and when isn't it?

👉 Register at www.incu.org
📍 Pudong, Shanghai | 📅 November 23-26

06/10/2026

The latest World Customs Journal is out! 🌏

How is AI changing customs enforcement? What does the circular economy mean for international trade in used textiles? And how can customs education keep pace with technological change?

These are just some of the questions explored in Vol. 20, Issue 2 of the World Customs Journal.

The latest issue brings together research on customs education, artificial intelligence, illicit to***co trade, AEO programs and resilience in Ukraine, sustainable trade, customs law, intellectual property enforcement and implementation of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

Plus, an editorial from Professor David Widdowson considers why the WCO’s Professional Standards need to evolve alongside disruptive technologies.

👉 Explore the latest World Customs Journal - https://www.worldcustomsjournal.org/issue/14714-vol-20-issue-2-2026


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01/10/2026

SUCCESS Update Septmber 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/wisetechglobal/success-update-may-17480859

Our September SUCCESS Update is now live. Congratulate our CSU graduates, register for our early warning signals webinar, and download the takeaways from our conversation with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General, WCO.

02/09/2026

The World Customs Organization - Organisation Mondiale des Douanes, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific, Asian Development Bank, International Chamber of Commerce are organizing the Webinar on Digital Product Passport: Transforming Cross-Border Trade.

This webinar will explore how Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are reshaping paperless trade, traceability, and supply chain interoperability.

🎟️ Free registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rDEXvz4OSCaAUNtjVwDjlw #/registration

🔗 Details: https://www.unescap.org/events/2026/digital-product-passport-transforming-cross-border-trade

28/08/2026

Our August SUCCESS Update is now live.

Register for our webinar with Ricardo Trevino, mark INCU's international conference in your calendar, read our latest article in The Conversation Australia + NZ and hear about new subjects launching in 2027.

Our August Update is now out. Read Professor Lark's editorial in The Conversation, register for our 'In Conversation with Ricardo Trevino' webinar and INCU Global Conference and much more...

19/08/2026

CCES and the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) are pleased to present our upcoming webinar with Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization - Organisation Mondiale des Douanes. This conversation with Ricardo will explore how the organization is thinking about the future, where it is focusing its efforts, and what these shifts may mean for customs leaders, practitioners and institutions worldwide. This event is free however registrations are essential via: https://charlessturt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y6H9E2mnQOif_FmbMAKyjQ

19/08/2026

CCES at Charles Sturt University is proud to showcase the work of Professor Amber Lark (PhD), whose research is helping reshape how Australia responds to one of the most confronting frontier issues in border security and child protection.

Professor Lark, alongside colleagues from The University of Queensland and UNSW, has partnered directly with Australian Border Force to better understand the importation, detection and classification of child-like s*x dolls at Australia's border.

Their work, recently published in The Conversation Australia + NZ, argues that these interceptions should be treated not merely as customs seizures, but as early warning signals, opportunities to identify escalating offending behaviours before a child is harmed.

By translating complex forensic and criminological insights into practical guidance for border officials, Professor Lark and her colleagues reinforce CCES and CSU's reputation as genuine partners to government on the issues that matter most.

It’s illegal to import or possess them, but child-like s*x dolls can be bought online. Each seizure is an opportunity to prevent real child s*x abuse.

05/08/2026

The International Network of Customs Universities INCU's Regional Conference will now be held on 23-25 November 2026 in Shanghai, China. For more information, please reach out via [email protected]
for more information.

The INCU Summer School hosted by the Shanghai Customs University will be proceeding as originally planned from 10-21 August. Information and registration can be downloaded from www.incu.org

05/08/2026

Last week, two of CCES's postgraduate research candidates made the trip out to the NSW countryside, home of Professor Amber Lark (PhD), CCES's Director of Research & Forensic Victimologist, for some hands-on thesis feedback and progress check-ins.

Associate Professor Mark Harrison is deep into his thesis "The codification of exports under international law: do we need a new convention?" tackling a question that sits right at the intersection of trade law and international policy.

Gabrielle Sivertsen is progressing her thesis "The mentally ill homicide perpetrator as an invisible victim: a victimological and historical analysis of the New South Wales Public Mental Health System (2000–2026)" an important, challenging piece of work examining how our mental health systems intersect with victimology and justice.

Laptops open, coffee poured, and a very large (and very happy) supervisor on duty, Amber's Great Dane, Bob Marley, kept everyone company through the chilly countryside mornings.