About the Grain and Plant Products Export Industry Consultative Committee
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Grain and Plant Products Export Industry Consultative Committee (the committee) is the principal forum for DAFF to consult with grain, fodder, nut, seed and timber industries on export inspection, certification, export market access and other relevant issues.For more information visit:
Key updates
The Committee met on 11 July 2013 in Canberra. Updates will be issued following each committee meeting and will provide an update on key projects and issues.
Audit framework
A new audit framework has been developed by Plant Exports to provide a nationally consistent approach to auditing export registered establishments and verification of Authorised Officers. This will ensure compliance with performance guidelines and legislation.
For export registered establishments, frequency of audits will be determined by the compliance history of the export registered establishment with non compliant establishments being audited more often. Export registered establishments must be audited at least once a year to ensure compliance with legislation and maintenance of hygiene standards.
Any compliance issues identified during the verification of an Authorised Officer may lead to additional training, improvement notices and in cases of serious non-compliance, further investigation.
Fodder and bulk grain registered establishments
DAFFhas finalised the non-compliance guidelines and assessment tools for export registered establishments.
Throughout April, four DAFF export officers conducted audits on fodder export registered establishments in the South West, South East and Central East. Two bulk grain export registered establishments were audited in June, implementing the nationally consistent audit requirements. These audits will continue over the coming months.
The non-compliance guidelines specify the baseline audit requirements for export registered establishments. They willhelp ease industry concerns over perceived inconsistency in registered establishment audits, meet importing country requirements and helpindustry prepare for audits which may be conducted by officials fromimporting countries.
Chinese audit
During May 2013, two auditors from the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) visited Australia to audit seven fodder establishments acrossWestern Australia, South Australia and Victoriaseeking AQSIQ registration to export oaten hay to China.
The AQSIQ auditors acknowledged that the department’s export system has improved significantly since their last visit in 2010 and that all exports have met China’s importing country requirements. They also praised the new audit system implemented by DAFF.
Forest products instructional material
The Plant Export Operations Manual will be updated to include a separate volume specific to forest products (Volume 8B) and the current forest products work instruction will be updated to provide greater clarity for Authorised Officers.
Issues identified through consultation with Authorised Officers andindustry are being addressedin the updated instructional material. This workis scheduled for completion by the end of August.
National bulk vessel inspection database
DAFF implemented a National Bulk Vessel Inspection Databaseon 24 June 2013. This will enable accurate and timely reporting to industry on national bulk vessel inspection data. The database requires DAFF Authorised Officers to record bulk vessel inspection data into a national database following the completion of each bulk vessel inspection. The data captured aligns with the data requirements of the Plant Export Management System and will operate until the roll-out of the system.
IT update –Plant Export Management System (PEMS)
The Plant Export Management System (PEMS) is a new IT system being developed by DAFF to streamline the plant export process. It will coordinate a range of processes including service requests, inspection records and documentation functions to improve national consistency and efficiency of the export process.
PEMS will be implemented throughtwo releases. The development of the system is nearing completion and the first release is scheduled for November 2013. The schedule for the second release—which includes Export Compliant Goods Storage, service requests, executive reporting and offline functionality—is being determined.
Prior to the release of PEMS,user acceptance testing needs to occur to ensure PEMS functions to best meet industry’s operational needs. This would be the last opportunity to identify any defects in the application before it is formally released. The committee was asked to nominate individuals to participate in the testing.
National Documentation Hub
The Plant Exports National Documentation Hub will improve the plant exports documentation process and make it more efficient.
Currently plant exports documentation services occur across Australia.By moving documentation processing and authorisation to a single office (Melbourne) the National Documentation Hub will improve service delivery and save exporters time. It will ensure effective, nationally consistent procedures in the authorisation and issuance of plant exports certification and related activities.
Industry will be able to request documentation services during an expanded range of hours and there will be a single contact for all enquiries relating to export requirements and export certification.
The National Documentation Hub is scheduled for implementation in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania later this year.
Grain and seed export program finances and formation of a finance sub-committee
To ensure appropriate industry engagement regarding the finances for the grain and seed export program a finance sub-committee was formed. Industry will be represented by: Geoff Honey, Adrian Reginato, Andrew Hannon and Chris Joyce. The sub-committee will consider the cost recovery options for the grain and seed export program and funding the Authorised Officer program prior to presentation to the committee.
Terms of reference for the finance sub-committee were discussed and endorsed. The first meeting of the finance sub-committee is scheduled for late August and will consider end of year results for 2012–13. Future meetings will be scheduled around the quarterly reporting and budget cycles.
Authorised Officer update
Industry is encouraged to continue to apply for the Authorised Officer model and undertake training and assessment in anticipation of future cost recovery.
DAFF continues to receive consistent numbers of Authorised Officer applications each week. As of 30June 2013, 1296 industry applications were received,of which 1081 directly relate to grain and plant products for export. Authorised Officer candidates are actively seeking training via DAFF Plant Export Assessors.
As at 30 June 2013, 402 industry candidates have been appointed as Authorised Officers, of which 371 were appointed for one or more job function directly relating to grain and plant products for export.
Draft specification for the international movement of grain
Australia is a signatory to the International Plant Protection Convention. A specialist committee within the International Plant Protection Convention isdeveloping an international standard for the movement of grain with options being reviewed by member countries.
The committee agreed that the development of a manual instead of a standard would better suit Australia’s needs. If a manual was not an option, the committeerecommended a reduction in scope to only include phytosanitary issues.
The committee agreed that maintaining an Australian representative on the specialist committee was important.This representative will be David Heinrich from DAFF.
Membership details
Membership of the Committee includes representatives of commodity sectors regulated by the DAFF Grain and Seed Export Program. Recent changes to Committee representatives include Malcolm May being replaced by Darren Keating (Australian Fodder Industry Association) and Narelle Moore being replaced by Anyou Liu (Western bulk handlers and port operators). A complete list of representatives can be found on the DAFF website.
Next meeting details
Thursday 14 November 2013
Contact details
Your feedback, comments and suggestions are important. If you require further information or have a question regarding information presented in this update, please speak to your industry association contact or DAFF directly.
Please send general correspondence totheSecretariat at
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry1
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