As part of the Dairy Export Assurance Program (DEAP), we are offering a free export facilitator service to provide tailored assistance to dairy manufacturers looking to become export registered. The service is also available to assist dairy manufacturers that are already export registered and are now looking for new opportunities.
Helping new entrants make a smoother transition
We understand that the process to become export registered can be complicated and time-consuming. Many new applicants enter the process without an adequate understanding of the requirements that they need to meet to become export registered and are therefore surprised to find that they are not as prepared as they thought they were.
It is very important to note that having approval from your state or territory food regulatory authority does not mean that you will be granted approval for export registration. This is because there are some differences between the requirements that apply to manufacturers of dairy products for export and those that apply to domestic dairy manufacturers. These differences exist due to the need for national regulatory oversight of food intended for export to provide importing countries with assurance that Australian-made dairy products are safe and wholesome for overseas consumers.
Talk to us before submitting an application
If you are considering applying to become export registered, we strongly encourage you to make use of this free service to help streamline your experience with the export registration process. We recommend that you contact the export facilitator before submitting a registration application (EX26a) given the following:
- The export facilitator can advise if export registration is required for your operations, and what documentation you will need to prepare and submit as part of your application.
- Submitting an EX26a attracts an application charge that you will be required to pay – see our charging guidelines for current application charges to register a dairy establishment.
- Submitting an EX26a initiates the application consideration period – the department will process your application within 120 days of receival, provided that you have supplied all the required information.
By talking to the export facilitator before applying, you can avoid unnecessary charges, surprises or delays to your application’s progression.
Scope of the service
The export facilitator can:
- Provide support to new applicants to help you understand:
- the process to become export registered and what you are required to do (including the audit process)
- what you are required to document in an approved arrangement
- any technical components that will be reviewed at audit (such as the details of a HACCP plan, and structural, hygiene and storage requirements)
- the types and level of information you are required to have documented
- any importing country requirements that you may need to consider
- Provide support to existing export registered establishments to help you understand:
- how our export system works
- how to explore export market opportunities (including any importing country requirements that you may need to consider)
- technical details about dairy manufacturing processes
- the process to make variations to your registration and when this is required
The export facilitator cannot assess components of your approved arrangement or advise if they will be compliant at audit. You will need to work with your auditor for this part of the process.
Getting started
Our export facilitator will work one-on-one with you, providing advice via email, phone, video call or in person if possible. When you first contact the export facilitator, we will ask you to complete an initial questionnaire to understand your needs and the assistance we can provide. We will then continue to engage with you at various steps of the process to provide additional assistance as required. Finally, at the end of the process we will seek your feedback on the service so that we can understand how we helped and where we can improve.
The DEAP program will be developing new resources and learning packages for dairy manufacturers, so your feedback on your experience is very valuable to us. We hope to see more dairy manufacturers successfully enter the export supply chain with confidence in their regulatory knowledge and ability to maintain compliance. This is an important step in growing and expanding export opportunities for your business and for the Australian dairy industry.
Contact us at DairyExportSupport@aff.gov.au so we can help you get started.