ELMER 3 - Electronic legislation, manuals and essential references

• Australian Export Meat Inspection System - Information package
• Application for appointment as an AAO
• Information about the AAO application process
• Application to change details of an AAO
• AAO Renewal Information
• Application to renew appointment of an AAO
• Independent employer of AAOs accreditation scheme

• Quick Reference Card: Animal Welfare Regulatory Management
• Model code of practice for the welfare of animals: Livestock at slaughtering establishments
• Industry Animal Welfare Standards - Third Edition
• Fit to load guidelines
• Land Transport Standards and Guidelines
• Australian Livestock Processing Industry Animal Welfare Certification System (AAWCS) Conditions of Recognition

• Approved Arrangement Requirements
• Approved Arrangement Variations
• Approved Arrangement Guidelines
• List of recognised Islamic bodies for halal certification of red meat

• Application to manufacture official marks and marking devices
• List of approved manufacturers of official marks and marking devices

• Export meat systems audit program checklist
• EMSAP Checklist - Wild Game

• Australian standard for the hygienic production of wild game meat for human consumption (AS 4464:2007)
• Australian standard for construction of premises and hygienic production of poultry meat for human consumption (AS 4465:2005)
• Australian standard for hygienic production of rabbit meat for human consumption (AS 4466:1997)
• Australian standard for hygienic production of ratite (emu/ostrich) meat for human consumption (AS 5010:2001)
• Australian standard for the hygienic production of pet meat
• Australian standard for the hygienic rendering of animal products (AS 5008:2007)
• Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

• Use of hazardous materials on-plant

• Code of hygienic practice for refrigerated packaged foods with extended shelf life

• EMIAC (Export Meat Industry Advisory Committee)
• EMIAC Finance Subcommittee

• Guidelines on the use and control of electronic records for statutory compliance
• Quick guide for use and control for statutory compliance
• Use and control of electronic records for statutory compliance self audit checklist

General information

• Emergency Animal Diseases: A field guide for Australian veterinarians
• AUSVETPLAN – National response to emergency animal disease incidents in Australia
• Animal Health Australia Online training course
• MINTRAC Emergency Animal Diseases signs and behaviours Quick reference guide
• MINTRAC EAD and Biosecurity resources
• National pest and disease outbreaks
• Exotic Disease outbreak protocol. Note: this does not replace our work instruction.
• World Organisation for Animal Health - Animal Diseases
• Agriculture Victoria - Emergency Animal Diseases
• NSW Department of Primary Industries - Animal Biosecurity
• Queensland Government - Reporting animal diseases
• Department of Primary Industries and Regions - South Australia
• NT Government - Animal health and diseases
• Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
• Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania - Animal Health

African swine fever

• African swine fever - DAFF
• MINTRAC Training - African swine fever
• Queensland Government - African swine fever guide for veterinarians
• World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) - African swine fever
• UK Animal and Plant Health Agency presentation – ASF
• U.S. Center for Food Security and Public Health - Disease Images: African Swine Fever. These images are for reference and cannot be used without contacting the CFSPH.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)

• The department’s website on foot-and-mouth disease
• Potential for windborne spread of FMD in Australia – report and summary
• Animal Health Australia - FMD training for veterinarians and veterinary professionals
• World Organisation for Animal Health - Foot and mouth disease
  This links to the OIE website and contains information specific to FMD.
• EuFMD Virtual Learning
  This site hosts a variety of training courses that support the control of Foot-and-mouth and similar transboundary animal diseases (FAST) (including Lumpy Skin disease).
• U.S. Center for Food Security and Public Health - Disease Images: Foot and Mouth Disease. These images are for reference and cannot be used without contacting the CFSPH.

 Lumpy skin disease (LSD)

• Lumpy skin disease - DAFF
• MINTRAC Training - Lumpy skin disease awareness program
• NSW DPI - Lumpy skin disease in cattle - information for veterinarians
• World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) - Lumpy skin disease
• EuFMD Virtual Learning
  This site hosts a variety of training courses that support the control of Foot-and-mouth and similar transboundary animal diseases (FAST) (including Lumpy Skin disease).

• Construction and equipment guidelines for export meat establishments
• Equipment approvals
• Provisions for Commonwealth authorised officers at registered establishments (PCORE)

• The European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS)

• Export Control Act 2020
• Export Control (Meat and Meat Products) Rules 2021
• Export Control (Wild Game Meat and Wild Game Meat Products) Rules 2021
• Export Control (Poultry Meat and Poultry Meat Products) Rules 2021
• Export Control (Rabbit and Ratite Meat) Rules 2021
• Other Legislation relating to Exports (Fees and other Export commodities)

• European Union (EU) animal welfare requirements
• Export meat system regulatory action and sanctions policy fact sheet
• Independent employer of AAOs accreditation scheme
  • Fact sheet - Independent AAO employer
  • Fact sheet - Abattoir owner or operator
  • Fact sheet - AAO
• Meat export licence
• Export permits

• Cost Recovery Design – Extended consultation on cost recovery of exports certification
• Cost Recovery Design – Stakeholder Engagement Sessions on the redesign of our Food and Plant Export Cost Recovery Implementation Statements
• Invitation to a stakeholder engagement session on the cost recovery redesign for Food Export certification fees and charges
• Independent review of the cost of export certification
• Consultation on cost recovery of export certification
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry charging guidelines

• Canning - Application for approval of a thermal process
• Order forms for Container and Tamper-indicative seals
• Application and instrument of approval for change of trade description form

• Ante-mortem Inspection
• Animal welfare incident reporting
• Department recognised animal welfare system
• Animal welfare from arrival to completion of slaughter
• Approved arrangement guidelines - Meat
• Approved Arrangement guidelines – Halal Certification Operations for Red Meat
• Approved arrangement guidelines - Poultry
• Approved arrangement guidelines - Wild game meat
• Auditing export red meat and wild game processing establishments and independent boning rooms
• Authorisation and use of third-party authorised officers
• Critical incident response
• Debt engagement
• Emergency animal disease
• EU Carcase Evaluation Services
• Export Meat Establishment Program (EMSAP)
• Interruption to production
• Meat Establishment Verification System (MEVS) - Establishment
• Meat Establishment Verification System (MEVS) - Independent boning room
• Pest control
• Post-mortem inspection
• Meat manual descriptions
• Provisions for Commonwealth authorised officers at registered establishments (PCORE)
• Retention
• Returned meat and meat products
• Trade descriptions
• Use of hazardous materials on-plant
• Wild Game meat workbook for approved arrangement application and auditing

Islamic organisations that have an approved arrangement with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for the certification of halal meat and meat products for export.

• List of recognised Islamic bodies for Halal certification of red meat

The Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) is now in operation.

You can apply for a user name and password from the Commodity homepage in Micor.

Client Feedback

Feedback is a valuable element in understanding our clients’ views of their experience with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Whether you are pleased with our performance or we have not met your expectations, we highly value your comments. If your feedback is not related to the process of meat exports, please refer to the Department’s suggestions, compliments, and complaints process.

The Export Meat Program (the Program) is committed to ensuring that decisions made by its officers are fair, transparent, and lawful. 

We recognise the need for export meat industry participants to:

• Have a clear process for escalating and reviewing real or perceived regulatory process failings.
• Provide feedback where obligations under the department’s client service charter are not met.

To support effective two-way communication, investigation, and resolution of complaints, and avoid where possible potential market disadvantage occurring, the Program has developed an escalation process specific to export meat sector regulated entities, which is consistent with the department’s obligations under the client service charter, service standards and complaints handling process.

This escalation process enables establishments to directly communicate with the export meat program management team to raise evidence-based concerns with issues and decisions, which are viewed as inconsistent with export legislation, or where the department has not met its obligations under the department’s client service charter.

Complaints Process

1. Export meat industry participants are asked to make every effort to resolve concerns at the plant level with the department’s operations team, prior to escalating issues. It is noted that the On-plant vet is the senior departmental officer in attendance at Tier 2 export meat establishments.
2. A separate process will exist for the resolution of carcase disposition related complaints (the carcase disposition dispute resolution policy). This policy will be released shortly.
3. Where a resolution has not been able to be achieved with the department’s operations team, regulated entities should write to meatexportsfeedback@awe.gov.au outlining:
   1. The nature of the complaint (including the urgency if it relates to product being shipped)
   2. The positioning of the export meat industry participant and the reasoning for that positioning.  Evidence should be provided to facilitate a timely investigation and resolution of the complaint.
4. The department will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within one business day.  The acknowledgement will include an assigned priority based on the urgency of the complaint and, if required, the contact details of the departmental officer assigned, and best placed to consider the complaint. 
5. The department will investigate the complaint, with a view to resolving factual issues and consider options for resolution and provide a response within 10 working days. If the matter is complex, it may take longer in which case an interim response will be provided.
6. In accordance with the Export Control Act 2020 (the Act), certain decisions made under the Act and subordinated legislation are reviewable decisions. If related to a reviewable decision, the notification of the outcome of this process will include details of how an export meat industry participant may seek a review of such a decision, should they disagree with an outcome.

Reporting to Industry

The Department will maintain an aggregated record of concerns (non-regulatory) raised with export registered meat establishments. The department and industry, through the Export Meat Industry Advisory Council (EMIAC), will together undertake regular reviews of complaint trends and their resolution to support continually improving regulatory delivery in line with the department's Client Service Charter.

How will the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry protect my privacy

Your privacy will be protected under the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988.

The information you provide in this process is used to improve and maintain our services and/or investigate and respond to your feedback. The information will be disclosed to the business area to which the feedback relates. It will not be used or disclosed to third parties unless you provide your consent, or we are required or authorised by law to do so.

Your personal information will be stored in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles. You are not required to provide your name or contact details, however, if you would like a reply, please specify how you would like the department to contact you. If you wish to correct or amend any information, please request this in writing to the email address listed.

Meat Notices, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997

• Meat Hygiene Assessment (MHA)
• Sheep ZT data collection tool

Microbiological manual - microbiological testing programs covered in this manual are those programs approved by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to demonstrate compliance with the relevant Australian standards and to meet certification requirements for export meat and meat products.

• Microbiological Manual for Sampling and Testing of Export Meat and Meat Products

Approved Laboratory Program – Applies to on-plant and commercial laboratories undertaking microbiological testing of meat and meat products to fulfil export requirements for department certification.

• Approved laboratory program
• General requirements for on-plant laboratories
• Approved microbiological methods checklists manual
• Surveillance visit checklist v20220902
• Reassessment checklist v20221222
• Multi-site reassessment checklist v20221101
• Approved laboratories for microbiological testing of meat and meat products
• Approved laboratories for testing beef trim for E. coli O157:H7
• Approved testing methods for microbiological testing of meat and meat products

• Targeted residue testing programs
• NRS approved laboratories for chemical residue testing
• NORM sample submission form

• Animal welfare policy
• Meat Establishment Verification System (MEVS) - Independent Boning Room Policy
• European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS)
• Export Meat Establishments with Limited Market Access
• Export meat regulatory action and sanctions policy
• Export Registered Australian Standard Meat Establishments (Tier 1)
• Guideline for the application of the Refrigeration Index to refrigeration of meat and meat products
• Information relating to the use of liner-less cartons at export registered establishments
• Loading for export and export permit application and issuing policy
• Meat Export Policy Significant and non-significant variation of an Establishment approved arrangement by the holder under the Export Control Act 2020
• Policy for approval of alternative procedures and new technologies in export registered meat establishments
• Post-mortem inspection roles of the Food Safety Meat Assessor (FSMA) in red meat processing establishments
• Sampling and disposition of Australian meat returned from overseas
• Transition arrangements for the implementation of the new Australian standard for the hygienic production and transportation of meat and meat products for human consumption (AS4696:2023)
• Use of electronic devices by authorised officers at export registered establishments

The Product Hygiene Indicators Program is a uniformly applied method to verify an establishment's ability to comply consistently including its ability to detect and resolve its own deficiencies.

• Government public health stream training program at export abattoirs for university veterinary students

This publication was not prepared by the department and may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines. If you require an accessible version of the publication, please contact its author.

• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian drinking water guidelines (2011) - revised 2015

• Field Manager Contact Details
• The Australian Export Meat Inspection System (restricted access - please contact aao@aff.gov.au for assistance)