16 November 2023
Who does this notice affect?
This notice affects biosecurity industry participants who hold approved arrangements under the Biosecurity Act 2015, especially those holding approved arrangements involving classes 1 to 14 (details of the different classes are available on the department’s web site).
What has changed?
Approved arrangements enable businesses to carry out activities to manage biosecurity risks associated with their business activities. The department’s policies for its regulation of approved arrangements are outlined in the Approved Arrangements General Policies document. The department has made changes to these policies and reflected these changes in a revised Approved Arrangements General Policies document.
None of these changes affect the:
- conditions and requirements that biosecurity industry participants must comply with,
- frequency of the department’s auditing of approved arrangements,
- determination of the audit result (pass or fail),
- process for applying for new or varied approved arrangements, or
- fees and charges associated with approved arrangements.
Summary of key changes
Replacement of corrective action request (‘CAR’) forms: Corrective action request forms are being replaced for class 1 to 14 approved arrangements (arrangements involving physical handling of goods subject to biosecurity control). Previously, when the department detected noncompliance for these classes of approved arrangement, the department would issue the biosecurity industry participant with a corrective action request form. In future, notification of noncompliance will be provided to biosecurity industry participants either:
- in the audit report, when the noncompliance is identified at an audit, or
- on a noncompliance form, when the noncompliance is identified outside of an audit.
Similar to the process that applied to corrective action requests, where notification of noncompliance is issued, the department will specify a noncompliance review date in the audit report or on the noncompliance form. The department will subsequently assess whether the approved arrangement remains noncompliant at the noncompliance review date and will determine and advise any further action.
This change will take effect on 27 November 2023.
No routine re-issuing of corrective action requests: Previously, for class 1 to 14 approved arrangements, the department’s standard practice was to ‘re-issue’ corrective action requests where the noncompliance was not rectified by the rectification due date. This will no longer be the process going forward. Instead, failure to rectify noncompliance by the noncompliance review date (specified in the audit report or on the noncompliance form) will be assessed for further action in accordance with the department’s Compliance Policy. Action may include, but is not limited to, suspension or revocation of the approved arrangement.
This change will take effect on 27 November 2023.
Changed document structure: The Approved Arrangements General Policies document has been divided into three parts for three distinct groups of the approved arrangements, reflecting the different compliance regimes for these groups:
- Part 1 – For approved arrangements involving classes 1 to 14 i.e., approved arrangements for the physical handling of goods subject to biosecurity control.
- Part 2 – For approved arrangements limited to classes 19.1 (non-commodity for containerised cargo clearance) and/or class 19.2 (automatic entry processing for commodities). These approved arrangements are typically operated by biosecurity industry participants who are customs brokers.
- Part 3 – For class 43.1 approved arrangements for disinsection of aircraft.
Terminology changes: There are some changes to the language used in the revised Approved Arrangements General Policies document for approved arrangements involving classes 1 to 14 (Part 1 of the document). These changes are outlined in the table below:
| Old term | New term |
|---|---|
|
Standard audit |
Regular audit |
|
Close down audit |
Close out audit |
|
Rectification due date |
Noncompliance review date |
Work Health and Safety responsibilities: The revised Approved Arrangements General Policies document includes an outline of biosecurity industry participants’ existing responsibilities under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which requires them to ensure a safe workplace for departmental officers attending sites operating under approved arrangements.