Suspending or revoking approved arrangements

​You must notify the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry if you are planning to change or cancel your approved arrangement.

Requirements for making changes depends on the type of approved arrangement held, specifically whether you operate a site or perform a service.

Your approved arrangement manager or site manager must advise the department at least 15 business days prior to the proposed date of any changes to your approved arrangement.

If you need to suspend your approved arrangement to address an urgent issue, please have the approved arrangements manager or site, contact email Approved Arrangements with the following details:

  • Approved arrangements number
  • Suspension type: whole or part
  • Reason for the suspension
  • Biosecurity risk management during the period of suspension.

Biosecurity industry participants can request a whole or part suspension of their approved arrangement or request to extend their approved suspension.

A whole suspension is the suspension of all of the approved arrangement, a part suspension is the suspension of part of the approved arrangement, e.g. a class, area or a specific biosecurity activity and an extension is a request to increase the period of the already approved suspension.

When applying for a part suspension, please attach an updated version of your site map that clearly marks any changes and highlights the biosecurity areas to be suspended. Examples of when it would be appropriate to attach a site map to your request are as follows:

  • Greenhouses A, B and C are approved at the same approved arrangement site and greenhouse C needs to be suspended for three months to undertake structural repairs. Goods subject to biosecurity are moved to greenhouse A and greenhouse C is decontaminated prior to repairs occurring.
  • A room within an approved arrangement site is suspended due to damage or the need to upgrade, for example, an air-handling unit. The rest of the site remains approved while the room and direct access to that room is limited to enable easy access for trade’s persons to undertake repair or modifications. Goods subject to biosecurity are moved to another co-located site.

An onsite audit maybe required prior to the approval of the suspension. At this audit, you may be required to provide evidence of how any goods subject to biosecurity control that were onsite have been moved, destroyed or otherwise dealt with. For sites with a wash bay being suspended you will need to provide a copy of an invoice for a flush, disinfect and emptying of the wash bay sludge pit and tanks.

Request a whole or part suspension

Provide as much detail as possible to minimise requests for additional information.

You must submit a separate form for each site.

Whole suspension

What you need to do:

  1. Complete: Request for whole suspension of an approved arrangement form
  2. Email: aa.canberra@aff.gov.au
Part suspension

What you need to do:

  1. Complete: Request for part suspension of an approved arrangement form
  2. For biosecurity area suspensions – Attach: updated site map highlighting biosecurity areas to be suspended.
  3. Email: aa.canberra@aff.gov.au

Extend your suspension

Requests to extend a suspension period are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

This includes requests to extend a suspension that has already been extended.

You need to advise your AA reference number, entity name and the updated end suspension date.

What you need to do:

  1. Email: aa.canberra@aff.gov.au

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Lifting a suspension

What you need to do:

Email: aa.canberra@aff.gov.au 15 business days prior to the end of the suspension to arrange a reinstatement audit.

Fees

Find out about our fees and charges for approved arrangements.

The notice period for a proposed revocation of an approved arrangement is 15 business days, starting on the day on which the relevant delegate receives the request for the revocation. Please nominate your intended date of closure, ensuring the date is at least 15 business days from the day you submit this request. We cannot accept a request if the date is less than 15 business days.

Prior to the revocation the department will confirm that:

  • goods subject to biosecurity, including waste, have been removed from the site through:
    • release from biosecurity
    • department movement direction to another approved arrangement site
    • disposal by a department approved provider
    • destruction
    • exportation
  • there are no outstanding/active biosecurity directions
  • quarantine and biosecurity signs have been removed from display, after the goods subject to biosecurity have been removed from the site
  • equipment used for goods subject to biosecurity control have been cleaned and disinfected using a department approved disinfectant
  • sites with a wash bay have provided a copy of an invoice for the emptying, flushing and disinfection of the wash bay sludge pit and tanks

On-site audit

An on-site audit may be required. At this audit, you will need to provide evidence that biosecurity waste has been collected by a department-approved waste transporter. You may also be required to provide evidence of how any goods subject to biosecurity control that were on site have been moved, destroyed, or otherwise dealt with. See close out audits below.

Remote audit (Optional)

To be considered for a remote audit in place of an on-site audit, you must also complete sections D, E, F, G and H of the request for revocation of an approved arrangement form and provide supporting evidence.

Request a revocation

Provide as much detail as possible to minimise requests for additional information.

You must submit a separate form for each site.

What you need to do:

  1. Complete: Request for revocation of an approved arrangement form
  2. Email: aa.canberra@aff.gov.au

Download

If you have difficulty accessing these files, contact us for help.

Fees

Find out about our fees and charges for approved arrangements.

If necessary, an onsite audit will be conducted to close out the approved arrangement site. Fee for service charges will apply for the onsite audit, including pre- and post-audit activity.

Before the close out audit is conducted you must make sure:

  • goods subject to biosecurity, including waste, have been removed from the site through:
    • release from biosecurity
    • department movement direction to another approved arrangement site
    • disposal by a department approved provider
    • destruction
    • exportation
  • quarantine and biosecurity signs have been removed from display, after the goods subject to biosecurity have been removed from the site
  • equipment used for goods subject to biosecurity control have been cleaned and disinfected using a department approved disinfectant.

At the audit you will be required to provide the following evidence:

  • waste and dunnage was collected by a department approved waste transporter
  • for sites with a wash bay:
    • copy of invoice for ‘flush and disinfect’ of wash bay sludge pit and tanks
    • evidence of removal of liquid waste subject to biosecurity has been removed by a department approved liquid waste transporter.

Note: Approved arrangement operators must retain, and make available to the department, records for a minimum period of 18 months after biosecurity clearance or disposal of goods subject to biosecurity.

Decommissioning and refurbishment of class 5 and 7

Where operators of class 5 and 7 approved arrangements propose to:

  • cease operations
  • renovate their site for purposes of obtaining compliance with the updated class 5 requirements
  • undertake a generic site upgrade.

The department requires that any risk of biosecurity concern is treated appropriately before the cessation of operations as an approved arrangement or the start of the refurbishment. This includes the disinfection of equipment, accessories and fittings, waste piping, filter media and any other components of the site that has the potential to be host material for goods of biosecurity concern.

The department has produced checklists to help operators to develop a refurbishment/decommissioning plan. These checklists are intended to assist operators in mitigating biosecurity risks associated with their operations. The processes required to be implemented are determined by the level of containment provided by the facility and the risk associated with the biosecurity material handled.

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If you have difficulty accessing these files, contact us for help.

Further information

Please contact the department for more information regarding the Suspending or revoking approved arrangements process.