First Year - 2023
Meeting communique
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, announced the establishment of the Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group (AATGG) on 2 March 2023 via media release. The AATGG provides guidance and oversight on priorities and action for Australia’s agricultural traceability systems, including the implementation of a national agricultural traceability strategy.
The AATGG reflects a breadth of highly experienced senior individuals across industry, governments and the broader supply chains to ensure shared implementation for improvements to Australia’s agricultural traceability systems.
The focus is on ensuring the governance framework, and specifically the AATGG, is inclusive, dynamic and adaptive as work pieces come through the structure along with more guidance on the direction of the approach towards agricultural traceability.
The AATGG met four times in 2023 – on 21 February, 21 July, 3 November and 13 December. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was advised of meeting outcomes.
The AATGG’s focus since inception has been establishing the structure, functions, coordination and work outputs between itself and its subgroups. The AATGG established 4 subgroups (through agreed Terms of Reference and memberships) to assist implementation of agricultural traceability work. These subgroups are supporting further co-design of the first 5-year draft Implementation Plan for the strategy, or provide technical guidance on data standards, sustainability claims or the national traceability research & development agenda.
In February 2023, the AATGG considered the draft national agricultural traceability strategy, co-designed by industry and governments in 2022-2023. The draft strategy is to maintain trust in Australia as a provider of high quality, safe and sustainable food and fibre products. It represents a cohesive and strategic national approach to ensuring all our systems – commercial and government – continue to be world leading, fit for purpose into the future, and able to adapt to emerging requirements.
Agriculture Ministers from across Australia came together on 13 July 2023 at the Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting to launch the inaugural National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033 (the strategy).
Members unanimously agreed that AATGG participation is pivotal in maintaining momentum for the strategy’s implementation and uptake of traceability activities. This includes working to match high value projects to available funding sources.