Approved Arrangements Working Group (AAWG) Meeting 2 Minutes Face to Face
Approved Arrangements Working Group - Terms of Reference
Approved ArrangementsWorking Group (AAWG)
Meeting 2 Minutes
Face to Face
Date / 22 November 2016Minutes / Aimie Wilkinson
Attendees / Caroline Gibson, Eleni Filippidis, James Fisher, Joost van Kampen, Kerrin Henderson, Kurt Whalan (telecon), Lisa van Duin, Philip Burr (telecon), Richard Whalebone, Shawn Miley (telecon), SjoukjeVaartjes and Theresa Fear
Apologies / Brett McDonald, Josiah Pit, Lara Condon, Leigh Burgess, Mark McKernan, and Tony Mortimer
Agenda items
Agenda item / Speaker / Outcomes1. Introduction and welcome / Caroline Gibson / Caroline introduced the working group and detailed her expectations of the day.
2. Tour of the PEQ facility / Simon Mills / Simon provided a presentation of the development of the PEQ facility and the future works that are underway.
Simon took the working group on a tour of the cat, dog and horse sections of the facility.
4. Discussion on the current AA class structure, what works and doesn’t work / Aimie Wilkinson / Consensus is that the current class structure is useful.
Once the BC1 containment class project is complete issues with class structure for some class 5s and 7s would be resolved.
The combining of waste subclasses into one class is supported.
5. Discussion on the way requirements are currently written and the requirements for forms i.e. would a prescribed form work better than requirements that stipulate the minimum requirements? / Aimie Wilkinson / It was agreed that minimum requirements for forms that were used internally were preferable and suggested templates for forms that need to be submitted to the department were more appropriate.
7. Discussion on accreditation and reaccreditation training. / Theresa Fear / The working group agreed that the current Accredited persons training package is not relevant to all industry and that it is has a cargo focus.
A number of operators are currently conducting their own training that is relevant to their work areas and includes information on biosecurity.
It was agreed that if an operator has developed their own specific training that covers the department’s minimum requirements, the accreditation requirement could still be met.
The online training will still be important for the majority of operators that wish to use it.
It was also agreed that reaccreditation is not required, unless specifically identified at audit.
Accredited persons certificates would no longer be required and a list of the names of the people who have completed training was sufficient as auditors could check this information. AA agreed to issue advice to the Audit Services group.
8. Feedback on how useful the updated website is, the effectiveness of industry notices and direct emails and how can we get more out of this working group. / Aimie Wilkinson / The working group members did not find the department’s website easy to use, specifically that the search function did not work very well and a shortcut to requirements needed to be included in the side bar.
It was agreed that the combination of direct emails and industry notices are required for messages that need to go to all AA operators, as this will ensure entity contacts are notified as well as the AA Manger and AA site contact.
Some members of the working group are having issues with the centralisation of activities, as they find it hard to liaise with the appropriate people in the department and the 1800 number does not take you to the relevant person. There were examples provided where 1800 operators refused to connect calls to specific people if requested. AA to check what the protocol was in relation to direct contact through the 1800 line.
9. Discussion on the new approval process and what further improvements could be made to enhance the process. / Aimie Wilkinson / It was agreed that submitting the same information for every application was inefficient i.e. proof of legal entity, however the group understood that as there could be changes some information was necessary, i.e. site maps.
11. Discussion on self-auditing and how it could be utilised for AA audits in the future. / Richard Whalebone / A number of members of the working group expressed interest in participating in a trial of self-auditing. They were also willing to attend training should self-auditing become a reality.
Some operators are already self-auditing to an extent to meet other regulators requirements.
It was agreed that not issuing self-audit results when required would instigate a departmental audit and this would also include situations where more information was required and not submitted by the required timeframe.
Not all members supported the idea of third party auditors, as they believe their commercial interests would outweigh biosecurity interests and could lead to an increase in costs for operators.
12. Any other items. / Aimie Wilkinson / 1. Better communication between auditors and inspectors is needed to facilitate joint inspection/audit activities.
2. More information on invoices is required to determine who and what they are for.
3. Less prescription on signage requirements is preferred and advice to auditors on what is acceptable.
4. How can the department make it more cost effective for some small operators that need to pay: annual levies, fee for service charges, import permit and inspection fees?
Action items
Agenda item / Responsibility / Action item5 / AA working group members / Submit examples of forms that are included in current requirements that you believe are no longer required to: .
5 / Aimie Wilkinson / AA to liaise with policy areas regarding the requirements for the submitted forms.
7 / Theresa Fear / Amend the definition of Accredited persons in the General policies and glossary.
7 / Theresa Fear / Develop a minimum requirements document that industry could refer to when developing their own training packages.
7 / Theresa Fear / Amend requirements that reference accreditation certificates and issue advice to the Audit Services Group.
8 / Aimie Wilkinson / Have requirements short cut added to side bar of website and notify PR that the search function does not work. Conduct a review of the current content to try and make it more intuitive.
8 / Aimie Wilkinson / Check what the protocol is for direct contact through the 1800 line.
9 / Aimie Wilkinson / Investigate if proof of legal entity is still required on all applications.
11 / Richard Whalebone / Explore further into the self-auditing initiatives raised.
12 - 2 / Aimie Wilkinson / Meet with accounts receivable to discuss information included on invoices.
12 - 3 / Theresa Fear / Amend signage requirements to beless specific and just include minimum requirements.
12 – 4 / Aimie Wilkinson / Ensure all AA operators are notified when the review of the departments cost recovery arrangements is available.
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