The Hon Peter Walsh MLA

Ref: / SEC010472
File:
“*SEC010472*”

Minister for Agriculture and Food Security

8 Nicholson Street

EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002

Dear Minister

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS FOR THE REGULATION OF BIOSECURITY MATTERS

Thank you for your letter of 26 June 2014, containing your Statement of Expectations (SOEs) for the regulation of biosecurity matters by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI).

This letter confirms DEPI’s commitment to improving regulatory performance and reducing costs faced by Victorian businesses and other regulated parties.

Biosecurity regulation is undertaken by the Biosecurity Division, within the Regulation and Compliance Group and the Agriculture Services and Biosecurity teams in the Regional Services Group.

Our commitment to regulate efficiently and effectively

DEPI recognises the impact that regulatory practices have on businesses and communities in the agriculture and food security portfolio.

Since being established one year ago, DEPI has made organisational changes and developed frameworks to transform its regulation and compliance of the environment and primary industries. This transformation will, when fully implemented, achieve the Government’s goals for stakeholder-focussed compliance (including enforcement) activities and locally responsive decision-making. It will embed many of the improvements recommended by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office in its 2012 report into the effectiveness of former Department of Sustainability and Environment, and the Department of Primary Industries compliance activities. Work is continuing, to bring consistent processes and approaches to a wide range of regulation and compliance roles across the department.

Our plan to meet the improvements

DEPI will meet your priorities for improvement through the plans outlined below.

Regulatory principles

In your SOE, you set out six principles to guide DEPI regulatory staff in their interactions with the public. The following elaborates on what stakeholders can expect in these interactions.

Principle / What stakeholders can expect
Helpful / I can expect to receive appropriate and timely information, advice and assistance to help me understand and meet my compliance obligations
Respectful / I can expect to be professionally and respectfully treated by DEPI compliance staff at all times
Proportionate / I can expect my compliance experience to match the relative risk, impact and intent of my behaviour
Predictable / I can expect to be able to anticipate my compliance experience based on my behaviour and to be treated the same as any other regulated individual or organisation for equivalent circumstances
Clear / I can expect to receive a clear explanation of a compliance decision
Transparent / I can expect to easily understand the way in which DEPI regulates both industry and community members

The Biosecurity Division will work with other DEPI regulators to jointly develop a standard for measuring DEPI’s performance against these expectations and then report against the standard.

Improvement Strategy / Target(s)
Biosecurity Division will work with other DEPI regulators to jointly develop a standard for measuring DEPI’s performance in delivering the regulatory principles and report against the standard / Participate in preparing the standard, collect and report on baseline data by 1 July 2015 and subsequent year’s data by 1 July 2016

Risk-based strategies

Biosecurity compliance is underpinned by risk-based approaches and aims to minimise the cost to industry while minimising the biosecurity risk. To this end, we have implemented industry-led quality assurance programs where there has been a proven record of compliance with biosecurity standards and legislation, as well as co-management and co-regulatory approaches for a number of industries.

DEPI is in the process of finalising a Biosecurity Compliance Strategy that clearly articulates the approach and priorities for biosecurity compliance activities and that accounts for the regionalisation of parts of the biosecurity operation functions.

Improvement Strategy / Target(s)
Biosecurity Division will publish a Biosecurity Compliance Strategy that includes a risk assessment framework / Publish Strategy by 1December 2014
Biosecurity Division will demonstrate how the Biosecurity Compliance Strategy or risk assessment framework has been used to prioritise biosecurity activities / Provide a minimum of two case studies annually
Regional Services Group will develop Regional Compliance Plans that include state-wide biosecurity compliance priorities / Regional Compliance Plans developed by 31March 2015
Biosecurity Division will consider the findings and recommendations of the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC) study into risk-based compliance for invasive species (due to commence mid-2014) / Within six months of VCEC presenting its findings and recommendations to the Department

Working with industry

Working with industry, as well as with communities, is a significant priority for DEPI and is recognised as an efficient and effective way to support compliance with the legislation. DEPI has many programs and initiatives designed to support industry, including industry-led quality assurance programs, co-regulatory and co-management approaches for specific biosecurity risks and a range of committees with industry and community participants. DEPI also provides a range of education and information services to assist industry understand their compliance, as well as emergency preparedness and response obligations.

DEPI will continue this approach by working with communities and industries who are willing to and capable of developing voluntary biosecurity compliance standards. To do this, Biosecurity Division and Regional Services Group staff will provide support to communities and industries seeking to develop biosecurity compliance standards to encourage the adoption of voluntary compliance.

Improvement Strategy / Target(s)
Biosecurity Division and Regional Services Group will support communities and industries seeking to develop biosecurity compliance standards to encourage the adoption of voluntary compliance / Publish a minimum of two case studies per annum demonstrating key areas of support provided to communities and industries

Timeliness

DEPI currently administers approximately 49 different biosecurity permits and licences, using paper-based systems. Providing an online option for these services will provide alternative options for applicants and will reduce the time taken to collect and process the information. In undertaking this, DEPI will also identify options to simplify and streamline processes, where possible.

Improvement Strategy / Target(s)
Biosecurity Division will make more licence and permit application forms available online / Make nine (9) licence or permit application forms available online by June 2015
80% of high volume licences and permits (>40 issued per year) and 80% of medium volume licences and permits (10-40 issued per year) available online by June 2016
Measure uptake of services made available online / 20% of applications made online in 2014-15
40% of applications made online in 2015-16

Accountability and transparency

Developing and implementing an evaluation framework across the range of biosecurity legislation is a priority for the Department and will provide vital information on the outcomes of both regulatory and emergency preparedness activities undertaken in Victoria.

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Framework (MERF) was developed specifically for evaluating the impact of DEPI’s Invasive Plants and Animals Program. Learnings from the development and implementation of the MERF are currently being used to develop a broader Biosecurity Evaluation Framework, which will provide overarching measures and outcomes that will be tailored to each program. The development phase includes undertaking a stocktake of current data collection streams and identifying ways of improving or expanding data collection to ensure we are meeting the desired outcomes of the legislation and protecting Victorian industries, communities and the environment from biosecurity risks.

Improvement Strategy / Target(s)
Biosecurity Division will develop a Biosecurity Evaluation Framework (BEF) / 30 June 2015
Biosecurity Division will implement the BEF in collaboration with Regional Services Group and collect the first year’s data to demonstrate achievement of program outcomes, efficiency, appropriateness, and value, as well as improvement and organisational learning / 30 June 2016

I confirm that DEPI will report on the achievement of these performance targets in its 201415 and 201516 Annual Reports.

Thank you again for your direction in the future governance and regulatory performance of biosecurity matters in Victoria.

Yours sincerely

Paul Smith

Acting Secretary

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