The country’s largest peak body for Australia’s $420 billion retail sector, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is maintaining a watching brief on the dual crisis impacting DP World’s cargo shipping terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Truck movements in and out of terminals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle have now resumed after Friday’s cyber incident, with 2,500 containers moved on Monday in comparison to 5,000 – 6,500 under normal circumstances.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil had described the the cyber incident at DP World as “serious” and would result in continued disruption to the four ports, which manage 40% of Australia’s inbound and outbound shipping movements.
At a National Coordination Mechanism (NCM) meeting convened by Emergency Management Australia (EMA) and attended by the ARA on Monday, DP World also confirmed that it would take up to two weeks to clear the backlog of 30,000 shipping containers – one week for Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle, and two weeks for Sydney.
Protected industrial action will also continue to impact wharf terminals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane through the month of November 2023. To help members navigate this complex and fluid situation, we have compiled the below analysis of planned industrial action.
While we have done our best to bring together this information, we suggest that members also conduct their own research about how this industrial action could impact their business.
| Date | Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Fremantle |
| Thursday 16-Nov-23 | Two-hour stoppage starting at 04.00am
Two-hour stoppage starting at 12.00pm Two-hour stoppage starting at 08.00pm Bans on loading and unloading trucks after 06.00am |
One-hour stoppage starting at 05.00am
One-hour stoppage starting at 01.00pm One-hour stoppage starting at 09.00pm Bans on loading and unloading of trucks and trains |
Two-hour stoppage starting at 05.00am
Two-hour stoppage starting at 01.00pm Two-hour stoppage starting at 09.00pm Bans on loading and unloading trucks (old yard) after 07.00am |
|
| Friday 17-Nov-23 | Two-hour stoppage starting at 04.00am
Two-hour stoppage starting at 12.00pm Two-hour stoppage starting at 08.00pm Bans on loading and unloading trucks |
24-hour stoppage starting at 06.00am
Bans on loading and unloading of trucks and trains |
Two-hour stoppage starting at 05.00am
Two-hour stoppage starting at 01.00pm Two-hour stoppage starting at 09.00pm Bans on loading and unloading trucks (old yard) after 07.00am |
Bans on loading and unloading trucks after 06.00am |
| Saturday 18-Nov-23 | Two-hour stoppage starting at 04.00am
Two-hour stoppage starting at 12.00pm Two-hour stoppage starting at 08.00pm Bans on loading and unloading trucks before 06.00am |
24-hour stoppage ends at 06.00am
Bans on loading and unloading of trucks and trains before 06.00am |
Two-hour stoppage starting at 05.00am
Bans on loading and unloading trucks (old yard) before 07.00am |
Bans on loading and unloading trucks before 06.00am |
From a retail perspective, the cyber incident – along with the industrial action impacting DP World – highlights the sensitivities of our supply chain and the need for urgent investment in supply chain resilience. We have made a number of submissions in recent months to inform the development of a national Cyber Security Strategy and to improve government’s Crisis Management preparedness and response. Click on this link for these and other submissions made by the ARA on behalf of members.
We understand most retailers already have their Christmas stock holdings in country but retail is a 52-week a year operation and so any significant disruption to port operations is potentially harmful.
