WiseTech Global to acquire CCES to strengthen customs training

WiseTech Global has entered into an agreement to acquire the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES), a specialist provider of customs and border management education, as part of its move to strengthen customs training and knowledge sharing globally.

CCES was established in Canberra in 2003 and provides training, education and research in customs and border management. Its courses are accredited by the World Customs Organization and are designed to maintain international professional standards in customs administration. The institution has delivered training and awareness programmes in more than 60 countries across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific and the Caribbean.

The organisation works with tertiary institutions, including Charles Sturt University, to offer internationally focused courses such as the Bachelor of Border Management and postgraduate qualifications in Customs Administration for professionals worldwide.

From 2025, CCES partnered with Fiji National University and the Oceania Customs Organisation to establish the Pacific Centre for Border Management and Security. The centre offers vocational and higher education programmes for border management officers across the Pacific region.

Following the acquisition, CCES will continue to operate under its existing brand and remain under the leadership of its founder, David Widdowson. Its online platforms will be consolidated onto WiseTech Academy, WiseTech’s digital learning platform. CCES’s specialist expertise will also support the ongoing rollout of the CargoWise Customs and Compliance global solution by contributing country-specific customs knowledge.

Tudor Maxwell, Head of WiseTech Academy at WiseTech Global, said the partnership would expand access to high-quality online training in customs administration and customs broking for professionals working in global supply chains.

Professor David Widdowson AM, Chief Executive Officer of CCES, said joining WiseTech would help the organisation reach more logistics professionals and further improve global standards in customs management and compliance.

WiseTech said the acquisition reflects its focus on developing industry skills through accessible online education. Since its launch in 2018, WiseTech Academy has provided training and certifications in global trade, logistics and supply chain skills, including technical areas such as biosecurity and dangerous goods handling. In FY25, the number of industry courses completed by participants outside WiseTech increased by more than 50%.

The transaction also builds on WiseTech’s work in digitising customs-related processes. The company’s global customs platform currently covers around 80% of the world’s international manufactured trade flows. WiseTech has recently been contracted by New Zealand Customs to digitise its tariff system and has been certified to issue preferential Certificates of Origin for Australia and New Zealand.