Appendix A - Part C

Amendment of Fees for the Meat Export Program

Purpose of Cost Recovery Impact Statement

This proposal involves the amendment of the current fees for the delivery of audit and inspection ervices-for the Meat Export Program (the Program). This Cost Recovery Impact Statement (CRIS) highlights the rationale for the amendments to these fees and demonstrates their compliance with the Government's cost recovery policy. To effect the fee changes, amendments will be required to the Export Control (Fees) Orders 2001.

Initial Policy Review

Organisational Objectives

The-Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is one of the business units within the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The Department is responsible for a wide range of issues including:

• Quarantine, export inspection and certification based on monitoring of food safety standards, which are essential for the maintenance of Australia's highly favourable animal and plant health status, and support Australia's position in global trade.

The role of the Department is to assist the Government to achieve its policy objectives and administer legislation.in these areas by contributing to the following Outcome identified in the Department's Corporate Plan 2003-2006:

• Australian agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries that are based on sustainable management of and access to natural resources, are more competitive, self-reliant and innovative, have increased access to markets, are protected from diseases and are underpinned by scientific advice and economic research.

AQIS is an Output Group of the Department and contributes to the achievement of the Department's Outcome by meeting the following Output objective:

• To protect Australia's animal, plant and human health status and maintain market access through delivery of quarantine and export services.

AQIS provides the following performance information for the provision of effective export inspection services:

• Number of consignments in AQIS export markets where facilitation of release of cargoes is attributed to AQIS involvement
• Rate of rejections of export consignments
• Level of awareness of AQIS export services

Mechanisms, including consultation, for monitoring ongoing efficiency and effectiveness.of cost recovery arrangements

Regular consultation with the meat export industry on cost recovery and regulatory activity occurs through the Export Meat Industry Advisory Committee (EMIAC). The EMIAC is the principal advisory forum for AQIS and the meat export industry to consult on all issues arising from the management of Australia's export strategies for meat and meat products.

The membership of EMIAC comprises representatives from key industry sectors:

• Australian Meat Council
• National Meat Association of Australia
• Food Science Australia
• Australian Chamber of Shipping
• Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association of Australia
• Meat and Livestock Australia
• Australian Meat Technology
• Australian Food Council Processed Meat Industry Forum
• AQIS representatives.

Face to face meetings of the EMIAC are conducted quarterly. Additionally, specific consultation regarding the Program's cost recovery activity occurs through the EMIAC Finance Sub-Committee. This consultation provides a process for monitoring of fees charged on an on-going basis and provides valued information on the changing dynamics of the industry that needs consideration in the review of fees and charging structures.

Additional consultation has been undertaken though the Export Wild Game Meat Industry Consultative Committee (EWGMICC). The EWGMICC is the principle advisory forum for AQIS and the wild game meat export industry to consult on all issues arising from the management of Australia's export strategies for wild game meat.

The membership of the EWGMICC comprises representatives from key industry sectors;

• The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia (KIAA)
• The Australian Game Meat Producers Association (AGMPA)

Face to face meetings of the EWGMICC are conducted annually. Additionally, specific consultation for matters affecting the industry is undertaken as required.

Details regarding the outcome of consultation are provided in the section "Outcomes of consultation with stakeholders".

Future cost recovery review arrangements.

Fees and charges are reviewed on a regular basis as part of the routine governance of AQIS and the financial position of the Program is also reported to at all EMIAC and EWGMICC meetings. Any change in fees and charges is underpinned by expert industry and financial advice and are consistent with cost recovery policy.

On the basis of current industry forecasts, a further fee review is planned for early in the 2007/2008 financial year to implement further fee amendments if necessary. This approach, which is supported by industry, has been taken on the basis that fees for the meat export Program are closely linked to the level of industry activity.

Current drought conditions have a substantial impact on industry activity and as the drought conditions are difficult to anticipate into forward years the level of industry activity is also difficult to forecast. In order to ensure that fees remain viable for the Program, and appropriate to industry activity, it is proposed that these circumstances are reviewed annually.

In addition to this, the Program will continue to monitor its performance against budget on a monthly basis and report on its financial position through established Governance processes such as the AQIS Leadership and Governance Committee (ALGC).

Design and Implementation

Who should pay cost recovery charges?

Consistent with the 'beneficiary pays' principle the users of government products or services, or those individuals or groups who have created the need for regulation, should pay cost recovery charges.

The cost recovery arrangements for the provision of Program services include:

• the provision of product inspection services to ensure that meat and meat products comply with the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human consumption;
• the provision of inspection and auditing services to ensure compliance with the importing, countries essential requirements;
• the provision of export certification services to certify compliance with importing country requirements.

These costs are recovered through businesses and individuals who receive the service. In the meat export industry industry, these clients include:

• slaughter houses
• cold stores
• meat processors
• exporters
• freight forwarders

Should cost recovery charges be imposed using fees or levies?

This proposal is an adjustment to fees that are already imposed under the "beneficiary pays" principle. Under this arrangement the costs for providing services are recovered from individuals and businesses who receive the particular service rather than imposing a levy across industry sectors or across industry as a whole.

What are the legal requirements for the imposition of charges?

Export Control Act 1982

(ComLaw Management - Series- Export Control Act 1982)

Subsection 25(1) of the Export Control Act 1982 ("the Act") provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Paragraph 25(2)(d) of the Act allows regulations to be made for the imposition of fees in connection with the performance of services by authorised officers and the remission of fees so imposed. Paragraph 25 (2)(g) of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations empowering the Minister to make orders, not inconsistent with the regulations, with respect to any matter for or in relation to which provision may be made by the regulations.

Export Control (Fees) Orders 2001

(ComLaw Management - Series- Export Control (Fees) Orders 2001)

The Export. Control (Fees) Orders 2001 details the fees imposed for the performance of services by authorised officers and the provision of documentation services.

Which issues should the proposed legislation address?

The legislation will be amended to accommodate the proposed fee structure so that the Program will be able to recover its costs.

The existing and proposed fee structure reflected in the Export Control (Fees) Orders 2001 is listed at Appendix A.

Which costs should the charges include?

AQIS seeks to meet the commitment to recover the Program's direct and indirect costs associated with managing the export inspection audit and certification services in a manner that is fairrand equitable across.the various sectors of the industry. The total Program costs are allocated as;

• EmployeeExpenses - $46,537,257
• Temporary and Contract Staff - $12,056,308
• Supplier Expenses - $9,073,232
• Corporate Expenses - $1,495,418
• Depreciation and Write Down of Program assets - $532,982

Employee Expenses, Temporary and Contract Staff, Corporate Expenses and Depreciation and . Write Down of Program asset costs are distributed across the Program's various delivery elements on the basis of the number of employees required to undertake each of the delivery elements. Supplier expenses are distributed on the basis of consumption of those expenses. Further detail of this allocation is provided at Appendix I.

Costs to be recovered from industry are firstly offset by any sources of internal or Government funding. The final costs are determined following the application of the anticipated 40% Government export contribution.

The 40% Government export contribution is firstly applied against the Program's fixed costs with the remaining balances applied to the Program's Meat Inspection, On Plant Veterinary Officer and Area Technical Manager service delivery elements. The balance of costs, after the allocation of the 40% export contribution is then recovered from industry through appropriate fee and charges. Further detail regarding the application of the Government 40% export contribution and subsequent costs to be recovered from industry is provided at Appendix II.

How should the charges be structured?

Fees and charges for the provision of services provided by the Program are structured so as to reflect the actual cost of providing the particular service. In addition, fees and charges relating to services provided by the Program are structured so as to encourage the most efficient use of resources by clients of the Program. The Government currently contributes 40% to the cost of these services with the remaining 60% recovered from industry.

The 40% export contribution received from the Government is allocated under the following conditions;

• To cover the full costs of the Program's fixed costs, i.e. Central and Regional Office cost. Fixed costs include the central and regional management of field operations staff and resources, training and development activity, OH&S and Program Management.
• The remaining Government export contribution is applied to fee for service for Meat Inspection, Veterinary Inspection and Area Technical Audits.
• Costs associated with Export Documentation, Overtime and Shift are fully recovered from the users of those services.

Further detail regarding the application of the Government 40% export contribution is provided at Attachment 2.

Fees and charges relating to the provision of recoverable activity were last reviewed in 2005/2006. Overall expenditure for the Program will increase by 5.5% in 2006/2007. The increase in expenditure by the Meat Export Program is primarily attributed to salary increases for staff performing administrative and inspection services as set by various Meat Program Agreement 2004-2007, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Collective Agreement 2006-2009 and applicable Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA).

Additional costs to the Program will result from the implementation of a number of initiatives which will serve to further improve the integrity and efficiency of the services it delivers. These initiatives are described as;

• Staff training and development
• Laboratory Accreditation Project for the accreditation of testing laboratories against AQIS' microbiological testing requirements. This project will serve to further increase the integrity of Australian exported meat
• Additional resourcing for the European Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS) in response to AQIS' increasing administrative involvement in the scheme. The delivery of EUCAS is essential to the maintenance of European meat export markets.

As stated, the costs to the Program have increased by 5.5% on expenditure for 2005/2006. A detailed break down of the increase is provided in the following table;

	2005/2006	2006/2007	$ Variance	% Variance
Corporate Expenses	1,345,192	1,495,418	150,226	0.23%
Depreciation and Write Down of Assets	302,889	532,982	230,093	0.35%
Employee Expenses	43,650,460	46,537,207	2,886,747	4.37%
Temporary and Contract Staff	11,168,774	12,056,308	887,534	1.34%
Supplier Expenses	9,567,949	9,073,232	-494,717	-0.75%
Totals	66,035,264	69,695,147	3,659,883	5.54%

The increase in employee expenses primarily results from salary increases of 4% paid to staff under the Meat Program Agreement 2004-2007, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Collective Agreement 2006-2009 and applicable Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA). The additional increase in employee expenses results from the engagement of additional staff to undertake and perform the initiatives described above. An additional 4% increase is anticipated for Temporary and Contract Staff undertaking Meat Inspection and On Plant Veterinary Officer duties as contracts fall due for renewal, accounting for the 1.34% increase.

The new initiatives will serve to further increase the integrity of AQIS inspection services. The benefits resulting from these initiatives will extend across the entire industry. As a result, expenditure on these initiatives is allocated to the Program's fixed costs and are to be recovered through the associated Registration Charge.

Details of the structure of charges is provided in Appendix I. This attachment provides the distribution of costs, the expected revenue to be generated from each of the delivery elements and provides details of their contribution to the overall recovery of costs for the Program

Fee for Service (FFS)

Cost modelling was undertaken by the Program has identified a need to.increase fees so as to more accurately align with the cost of providing the service in the following categories;

1. Meat Inspection Fee For Service
2. Veterinary Inspection Fee For Service
3. Area Technical Manager Audits
4. Meat Inspector and Veterinary Officer Overtime and Shift Loading
5. Export Documentation

Amendments to fees

a) Meat Inspection Fee. For Service

AQIS provides meat inspection services to export establishments to carry out post-mortem inspection. This inspection is carried out so as to ensure that meat and meat products comply with the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human consumption thereby ensuring-that product is fit for export.

Fees for meat inspection services are costed on the basis of total employee and supplier expenditure for officers and contractors providing meat inspection services. The total costs for these services are then assessed against the total number of inspectors available to provide the service to obtain a `per inspector' annual cost.

Clients may also elect to purchase meat inspection services on a non annual basis (ie 4 weekly, weekly, and daily). The fees for these services have increased proportionately with the annual rate.

Meat inspectors who provide services on a non-annual basis incur additional costs. These additional costs result from the non-chargeable time for inspectors experienced while they are between placements at a registered establishment. The loading included in the non-annual fees has been set so as to allow the Program to recover this non-chargeable time. As well as ensuring that the Program is able to recover all costs the additional loading has the effect of encouraging users to select the highest category suitable to their needs, thereby minimising the downtime of AQIS meat inspection staff and maximising the efficient use of resources.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Annual	$51,589.00	$53,609.00
(ii)	4 weekly	$4,361.00	$4,532.00
(iii)	Weekly	$1,453.00	$1,510.00
(iv)	Daily	$363.00	$378.00

Fees for meat inspection services provided on an hourly basis have been costed separately due to the unique nature of the service.

Hourly meat inspection services are provided as required by the establishment. These services are provided by a limited number of staff for irregular activity at the establishment (such as load out inspections and relief of other staff as necessary).

These services also require frequent travel between establishments and thus have a higher proportion of non-chargeable activity.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Hourly	$62.00	$63.00

Calculation of Costs for Meat Inspection Fee For Service

Cost per Meat Inspector

	Staff	Contractors	Non Chargeable	Hourly Inspectors	Total
Total Cost	24,249,301	12,365,538			36,821,077
Less O/T Contractor
Costs		158,202			158,202
Less Costs for hourly
Inspection					1,355,309
Total Cost minus O/T
Contractor Cost	24,249,301	12,207,336			35,307,566
No of FTEs 06/07	302	154	43	15	398
Cost per Meat Inspector	80,296	79,268			88,712
Meat Inspector Service	Cost per
Items	Service Item
Meat Inspector Annual	88,712
Apply 40% Export
Contribution	-35,103
Final Charge	53,609

Cost per Meat Inspector – Hourly Rate

	Cost
Total Hourly Circuit
Inspection Costs	1,355,309
No of FTEs on 05/06	15
Total Hourly Circuit
Inspection Costs	90,354
/ by No of Chargeable Hours	864
Cost per Hour	104.58
Apply 40% Export
Contribution	-41.38
Final Charge	63.20

b) Veterinary Inspection Fee For Service

AQIS provides veterinary inspection services to export establishments for the purpose of ensuring that meat and meat products comply with the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption thereby ensuring that product is fit for export.

Veterinary inspectors carry the additional responsibility of monitoring the performance of AQIS meat inspection staff and to provide ongoing inspection and auditing of the establishment for compliance against domestic and importing country requirements.

The total costs for these services are then assessed against the total number of inspectors available to provide the service to obtain a 'per inspector' annual cost.

Clients may also elect to purchase veterinary inspection services on a non annual basis (ie 4 weekly, weekly, and daily). The fees for these services have increased proportionately with the annual rate.

Veterinary inspectors who provide services on a non-annual basis incur additional costs. These additional costs result from the non-chargeable time for inspectors experienced while they are between placements at a registered establishment. The loading included in the non-annual fees has been set so as to allow the Program to recover this non-chargeable time. As well as ensuring that the Program is able to recover all costs the additional loading has the effect of encouraging users to select the highest category suitable to their needs, thereby minimising the downtime of AQIS veterinary inspection staff and maximising the efficient use of resources.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Annual	$82,260.00	$82,997.00
(ii)	4 weekly	$6,954.00	$7,016.00
(iii)	Weekly	$2,317.00	$2,338.00
(iv)	Daily	$579.00	$584.00
(v)	Hourly	$79.00	$80.00

The fee increase for Contract Hourly Rate reflects the increased rate paid to contractors for their services since the last review of fees in 2005/2006. The contract rates for Veterinary Inspectors are anticipated to increase by 4% in 2006/2007 as contracts fall due for renewal over the course of the financial year. The increased fee allows AQIS to ensure that it is able to recover the additional cost of those contracts eligible for a 4% increase.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Contractor Hourly	$62.00	$63.00

Calculation of Costs for Veterinary Officer Fee For Service

Cost per Veterinary Officer

	Staff	Contractors	Non Chargeable	Total
Total Cost	10,156,286	4,779,429		15,060,541
Less O/T Contractor Costs	0	90,068		90,068
Total Cost minus O/T Contractor
Cost	10,156,286	4,689,361		14,970,473
No of FTEs 06107	85	40	16	109
Cost per Veterinary Officer	119,486	119,486		137,344
Veterinary Officer Service
Items	Cost per Service Item
Veterinary Officer Annual	137,344
Apply 40% Export Contribution	-54,347
Final Charge	82,997

c) Area Technical Manager (ATM) Fee For Service

AQIS area technical audits are undertaken by senior veterinary and meat inspection staff ATMs are responsible for auditing meat and veterinary inspection staff employed at registered establishments. Area Technical Managers also provide routine monthly inspection at registered establishments to ensure compliance with the domestic and importing country requirements.

The Area Technical Manager Program will also undertake specific training activity to further improve the integrity and efficiency of the service they provide. This additional training activity is supported by industry and is recognised as an additional cost in the delivery of Area Technical Manager services. The new rate allows the Program to ensure that the cost of these services will be recovered.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Hourly	$158.00	$182.00
(ii)	Daily	$1,028.00	$1,184.00

Calculation of Costs for ATM Fee For Service

Cost per ATM

	Total
Total Cost	3,449,047
No of FTEs 04/05	16
Cost per ATM	216,565
ATM Service Items	Cost per Service Item
ATM Hourly	301
ATM Daily	1,960
Hourly Rate Calculation
Cost per ATM	215,565
Chargeable Time (Hours)	715
Hourly Cost	301
Apply 40% Export Contribution	119
Final Hourly Charge	182
Daily Cost	1,960
Apply 40% Export Contribution	776
Final Daily Charge	1184

d) Meat Inspector (MI) and Veterinary Officer (VO) Overtime and Shift Loading

AQIS provides meat and veterinary inspection services outside of the normal working hours through overtime and shift arrangements with establishments as required.

Officers who are performing overtime or shift work are paid penalty provisions in line with conditions of their relevant Agreement or Contract with the Department.

Salaries paid to Meat Inspection staff are due to increase by 4% 2006/2007 in line with the Meat Program Agreement 2004-2007. Overtime and shift rates have also been increased by 4% so that the Program is able that ensure that the cost of these services will be recovered.

Salaries paid to Veterinary Inspection staff are due to increase by 4% in 2006/2007 in line with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Collective Agreement 2006-2009. Overtime and shift rates have also been increased by 4% so that the Program is able to ensure that the cost of these services will be recovered.

Accordingly, AQIS maintains provisions to set a minimum charge for services provided that are not continuous with ordinary duty. The minimum rates are increased in line with the increases for related overtime and shift fees.

Meat Inspection Overtime

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Single Time (1/4 hour)	$6.30	$6.60
	Single Time Minimum	$100.80	$105.00
(ii)	Single Time and a Half (1/4 hour)	$9.50	$9.90
	Single Time and a Half Minimum	$152.00	$159.00
(iii)	Double Time (1/4 hour)	$12.60	$13.20
	Double Time Minimum	$201.60	$210.00
(iv)	Double Time and a Half Rate	$15.80	$16.40
	Double Time and a Half Minimum	$252.80	$263.00

Meat Inspection Shift

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Weekday (1/4 hour))	$0.95	$1.00
	Saturday (1/4 hour))	$3.20	$3.40
(ii)	Sunday 1/4 hour	$6.30	$6.60
	Public Holiday (ordinary) (1/4 hour)	$9.50	$9.90
(iii)	Public Holiday (outside) (1/4 hour)	$15.80	$16.50

Veterinary Inspection Overtime

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(ii)	Single Time and a Half (1/4 hour)	$14.80	$15.40
	Single Time and a Half Minimum	$236.80	$246.00
(iii)	Double Time (1/4 hour)	$19.70	$20.50
	Double Time Minimum	$315.20	$328.00
(iv)	Double Time and a Half Rate	$24.60	$25.60
	Double Time and a Half Minimum	$393.60	$410.00

Veterinary Inspection Shift

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Weekday (1/4 hour)	$1.50	$1.60
	Saturday (1/4 hour)	$4.90	$5.20
(ii)	Sunday (1/4 hour)	$9.80	$10.30
	Public Holiday (ordinary) (1/4 hour)	$14.80	$15.40
(iii)	Public Holiday (outside) (1/4 hour)	$24.55	$25.60

e) Export Documentation

AQIS provides export certification to facilitate the entry of product into overseas markets. Certification may be provided electronically, through the AQIS Export Documentation system (EXDOC), or manually. Certificates may also require replacement at the request of the exporter or importing country. Differing effort is required for the delivery of electronic, manual and replacement certificates and, as such, each of the categories attracts a unique cost. All documentation costs have been subject to 4% salary increases.in line with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Collective Agreement 2006-2009 since the last review of fees.

Electronic documentation is delivered through the AQIS' export documentation system (EXDOC). Maintenance and support costs for the EXDOC system have increased by approximately 17% in 2005/2006 and this trend.is expected to continue in the 2006/2007 financial year.

The salary and maintenance increases have resulted in additional cost for the delivery of this service however staffing and service delivery efficiencies have mitigated the costs to AQIS clients. The increasing volumes of electronic certificate delivery through the AQIS EXODC system have had the effect of increasing the revenue base for the recovery of electronic documentation, reducing the volume of manual documentatiOn and thereby reducing the effort/cost required to deliver documentation services. When combined, these circumstances have allowed the required increase in fees for electronic documentation to remain below the average increase required for documentation services. The slight increase in fees recognises the mitigated costs whilst still allowing the Program to ensure that electronic documentation service are recovered.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Meat Health Certificate (Electronic)	$11.00	$12.00

AQIS provides export certification to facilitate the entry of product into overseas markets. At the request of clients, these certificates may need to be replaced to correct errors or change information as required by the client.

The provision of a replacement certificate is often managed through an AQIS overseas post requiring extensive liaison with AQIS officials and foreign government officials to negotiate entry of export product. By way of comparison, the provision of an electronic certificate is largely an automated process requiring little intervention from AQIS staff with the charge for the electronic certificate primarily reflecting the cost of maintaining and administering the EXDOC system. The provision of a replacement certificate is largely a manual process, requiring manual reconciliation of information against export product, liaison with AQIS on-plant staff and liaison with foreign government officials. These activities require the involvement of senior AQIS staff and, coupled with significant additional time taken to process and negotiate replacement documents, attract a substantially higher cost.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Meat Replacement Health Certificate	$300.00	$305.00

Calculation for the costs of Replacement Certificates

Average Salary for staff processing replacement certification	$73,562
Salary and Admin on-costs @ 25%	$18,391
Hourly rate	$47.00
Average number of hours to process replacement certificate	6.5
Total cost per document	$305.53

AQIS provides export certification to facilitate the entry of product into overseas markets. Manual certification is provided to those clients not utilising the AQIS' electronic documentation system (EXDOC). The provision of manual documentation requires the direct involvement of AQIS inspection staff to ensure compliance with AQIS and importing country requirements. The physical review of such requirements results in a significantly higher labour-intensive effort for the delivery of manual documentation.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Manual Health Certificate	$30.00	$31.00

Calculation for the costs of Manual Certificates

Average Salary for staff processing manual certification	$49,163
Salary and Admin on-costs @ 25%	$12,291
Hourly rate	$31.41
Average number of hours to process manual certificate	1
Total cost per document	$31.41

Both the Wool, Skins and Hides (WSH) document and the Meat Health Certificate (Electronic) are issued through the AQIS Electronic Documentation system (EXDOC). The cost of a WSH document is set higher than that of the Meat Health Certificate (Electronic) as a result of the additional effort, in the relation to the additional reconciliation of client statements regarding the export product, required from AQIS officers to assist industry with the completion of the documentation.

AQIS has calculated that approximately 33% additional effort, above that of the Meat Health Certificate (Electronic), is required to deliver Wool, Skins and Hides documentation. This additional effort is reflected in the Wool, Skins and Hides charge and will allow the Program to ensure that the cost of these services is recovered.

	Rate	Current charge	Proposed charge
(i)	Wool, Skins and Hides	$15.00	$16.00

How should costs be calculated and allocated?

The AQIS Fees and Charges Policy states that Programs should ideally endeavour to fully recover their costs in the year they are incurred. Fees and charges are set so as to allow for the full recovery of costs and are also set at a level to avoidsustained over recoveries in future years. Cost recovery outcomes are fully detailed in the AQIS Report to Clients, which is produced annually and is available on the AQIS website.

The AQIS Report to Clients provides the following information to clients:

• Current year results;
• Accumulated results taking into consideration prior years; and
• Details of any funds held in industry liability accounts.

Fees and charges have been formulated to properly reflect the costs of providing the activity. A summary of the AQIS modelling.

Outcomes of Consultation with Stakeholders

AQIS has consulted with the Export Meat Industry Advisory Committee (EMIAC) and the Export Wild Game Meat Industry Consultative Committee (EWGMICC) regarding the proposed increase in fees.

Specific consultation on the changes to the fees has been undertaken through the EMIAC Charging Sub-Committee.The sub-committee findings have been resented to the EMIAC and AQIS has obtained endorsement and support for the proposed increase in fees.

The EWGMICC, as the principle advisory forum for AQIS and the game meat export industry has also been consulted and have supported AQIS in its proposal to increase fees.

The Meat Export Program will notify its clients of the revised fees and charges through the established process of issuing Industry Notices and by updating the `Fees and Charging Guidelines' on the AQIS internet site.

The Program policy on transparency and of forewarning industry of changes has placed it in a good position for managing any future fee reviews. The AQIS Finance area has ensured consistent policy application in the development of the fee structure across various Programs.

I certify that this CRIS applies the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines (July 2005) for Regulatory Agencies.

PETER YUILE
Executive Director
AQIS
Date:_________

Appendix I

06-07 Meat Export Program Expenditure

Fixed Costs	7,096,664
Central Office Program Administration	4,088,682
Regional Office Program Administration	1,902,845
Protective Clothing and Equipment	245,647
Overseas Audit of Registered Establishments	26,922
Meat Export Verification Program	586,223
Development of On-Plant Veterinary Officers	246,346
Service Delivery	62,598,484
Fee for Service
Meat Inspection Service Delivery	36,821,077
On Plant Veterinary Officer Service Delivery	15,060,541
Area Technical Managers Service Delivery	3,449,047
Total	55,330,664
Overtime
Meat Inspection Overtime	3,173,852
On Plant Veterinary Officer Overtime	1,471,479
Total	4,645,332
Documentation and Registration
AQIS Electronic Documentation System (EXDOC)	2,127,328
Documentation and Registration Administration	495,159
Total	2,622,487
Total Cost	69,695,148

Appendix II

Amount to be recovered through Fees and Charges

Fixed Costs less -	7,096,664
Interest on Cost of Capital	70,182
Appropriated funding	160,000
Interest on Industry Reserve Accounts	253,210
Internal Revenue	37,125
40% export contribution	6,430,688
Balance to be recovered from industry	101,584
Service Delivery	62,598,484
Meat Inspection Costs less -	36,821,077
40% export contribution	14,524,327
Meat Inspection balance to be recovered from industry	22,296,750
On Plant Veterinary Officer Costs less-	15,060,541
40% export contribution	5,981,652
On Plant Veterinary Officer balance to be recovered from industry	9,141,889
Area Technical Managers Costs less -	3,449,047
40% export contribution	1,363,313
Area Technical Managers balance to be recovered from industry	2,085,734
Overtime Costs less -	4,645,332
40% export contribution.	Nil
Overtime balance to be recovered from industry	4,645,332
Documentation and Registration less -	2,622,487
Interest on Cost of Capital	18
40% export contribution	Nil
Balance to be recovered from industry	2,622,469
Total to be recovered from Industry	40,893,758

Appendix III

Meat Export Program Schedule of Charges

Activity	Current Charge (with Govt export contribution applied)	Proposed Charge at full cost	% reduction from allocation of Govt export contribution	Final Proposed Charge (with Govt export contribution applied)	% increase (Current Charge to Final Proposed Charge)
Registration
Export Coldstore <1,000t	0.00	1,258.10	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Coldstore >1,000t<10,000t	0.00	1,258.10	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Coldstore >10000t	0.00	2,516.20	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Processing <50t	0.00	1,887.20	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Processing > 50t	0.00	14,543.60	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Processing AQA	0.00	2,516.20	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Casings < 100t	0.00	629.10	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Casings > 100t	0.00	8,806.70	100.00	0.00	0.00
ExpOrt Boning <1,500t	0.00	10,417.00	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export_Boning >1,500t <4,000t	0.00	14,543.60	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Boning >4,000t	0.00	20,834.00	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Slaughter <750t	0.00	6,290.50	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Slaughter >750t <10,000t	0.00	38,183.10	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Slaughter >10,000t <20,000t	0.00	76,366.10	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Slaughter >20,000t	0.00	88,947.00	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Game Processing <100t	0.00	1,837.20	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Game Processing >100t	0.00	6,290.50	100.00	0.00	0.00
Export Emu - Slaughter Registration	0.00	6,013.70	100.00	0.00	0.00
Meat Inspection Fee For Service
Meat Inspector - Annual	51,589.00	88,712.50	39.57	53,809.00	3.92%
Meat Inspector - Monthly	4,361.00	7,499.00	39.57	4,532.00	3.92%
Meat Inspector- Weekly	1,453.00	2,499.00	39.57	1,510.00	3.92%
Meat Inspector- Dally	363.00	624.80	39.57	378	4.13%
Meat inspector - Hourly	62.00	104.60	39.57	63	1.61%
Veterinary Officer Fee For Service
Veterinary Officer -Annual	82,260.00	137,343.80	39.57	82,997.00	0.90%
Veterinary Officer - Monthly	6,954.00	11,609.80	39.57	7,016.00	0.89%
Veterinary Officer-Weekly	2,317.00	3,868.90	39.57	2,338.00	0.91%
Veterinary Officer - Daily	579.00	967.30	39.57	584	0.88%
Veterinary Officer- Hourly	79.00	132.10	39.57	80	1.27%
Veterinary Officer- Contract Hourly	62.00	104.60	39.57	63 .	1.61%
Area Technical Manager Fee For Service
Meat Export -Area Technical Manager - Hourly	158.00	301.50	39.57	182	15.19%
Meat Export - Area Technical Manager-Daily	1028.00	1959.70	39.57	1,184.00	15.18%
Overtime - Meat Inspector
MI Overtime - Single time	6.30	6.60	0.00	6.80	4.76%
MI Overtime-Time and half	9.50	9.90	0.00	9.90	4.21%
MI Overtime-Double time	12.60	13.20	0.00	13.20	4.76%
MI Overtime - Double time and half	15.80	16.40	0.00	16.40	3.80%
MI Shiftloading - Weekday	0.95	1.00	0.00	1.00	5.26%
MI Shiftloading - Saturday	3.20	3.40	0.00	3.40	6.25%
MI Shtftloading - Sunday	6.30	6.60	0.00	6.80	4.76%
MI Shiftloading - Public Holiday (ordinary)	9.50	9.90	0.00	9.90	4.21%
MI Shifttoading - Public Holiday (outside)	15.80	16.50	0.00	16.50	4.43%
Overtime –Veterinary Officer
VO Overtime - Time and half	14.80	15.40	0.00	15.40	4.05%
VO Overtime - Double time	19.70	20.50	0.00	20.50	4.06%
VO Overtime - Double time and half	24.60	25.60	0.00	25.60	4.07%
VO Shiftloading - Weekday	1.50	1.60	0.00	1.60	6.67%
VO Shiftloading - Saturday	4.90	5.20	0.00	5.20	6.12%
VO Shittloading - Sunday	9.80	10.30	0.00	10.30	5.10%
VO Shiftloading - Public Holiday (ordinary)	14.80	15.40	0.00	15.40	4.05%
VO Shiftloading - Public Holiday (outside)	24.55	25.60	0.00	25.60	4.28%
Registration and Documentation
Meat Health Certificate (Electronic)	11.00	1200	0.00	12.00	9.09%
Meat Replacement Health Certificate	300.00	305.00	0.00	305.00	1.67%
Manual (Miscellaneous) Document Charge	30.00	31.00	0.00	31.00	3.33%
Wool Skins and Hides EXDOC	15.00	16.00	0.00	16.00	6.67%

Appendix IV

Meat Inspection Division - Activity 06-07

Description	05/06 Costs to be recovered	Current Charge (with Govt export contribution applied)	Proposed Charge at full cost	Final Proposed Charge (with Govt export contribution applied)	% increase (Current Charge to Final Proposed Charge)	Total Revenue	Surplus/Deficit (after application of Government export contribution)
FIXED COSTS	6,536,147					197,333	6,338,814
Registration	6,430,688					-	6,430,688
Export Coldstore <1,000t		-	1,258	-	-	-
Export Coldstore >1,000t<10,000t		-	1,258	-	-	-
Export Coldstore >10,000t		-	2,516	-	-	-
Export Processing <50t		-	1,887	-	-	-
Export Processing >50t		-	14,544	-	-	-
Export Processing AQA		-	2,516	-	-	-
Export Casings < 100t		-	629	-	-	-
Export Casings > 100t		-	8,807	-	-	-
Export Boning <1,500t		-	10,417	-	-	-
Export Boning >4,000t		-	20,834	-	-	-
Export Slaughter <750t		-	6,290	-	-	-
Export Slaughter >750t <10,000t		-	38,183	-	-	-
Export Slaughter >10,000t <20,000t		-	76,366	-	-	-
Export Slaughter >20,000t		-	88,947	-	-	-
Export Game Processing <100t		-	1,887	-	-	-
Export Game Processing >100t		-	6,290	-	-	-
Export Emu - Slaughter Registration		-	6,014	-	-	-
Approvals / Audits	105,459					197,333	91;874
Meat Chemical Approvals		200		200.00	0.00%	197,333
FEE FOR SERVICE - FIELD	59,975,996					64,008,885	4,032,889
Meat Inspector	36,821,077					37,161,250	340,173
Meat Inspector -Annual		51,589.00	88,712.50	53,609.00	3.92%	28,770,163
Meat Inspector-Monthly		4,361.00	7,499.00	4,532.00	3.92%	5,740,533
Meat Inspector-Weekly		1,453.00	2,499.00	1,510.00	3.92%	367,433
Meat Inspector-Dally		363.00	624.80	378.00	4.13%	844,830
Meat Inspector -Hourly		62.00	104.60	63.00	1.61%	1,438,290
On Plant Veterinary Officer	15,060,541					16,236,482	176,941
Veterinary Officer - Annual		82,260.00	137,343.80	82,997.00	0.90%	11,757,908
Veterinary Officer - Monthly		6,954.00	11,609.80	7,016.00	0.89%	2,420,520
Veterinary Officer- Weekly		2,317.00	3,868.90	2,338.00	0.91%	194,833
Veterinary Officer - Daily		579.00	967.30	584.00	0.86%	681,333
Veterinary Officer - Hourly		79.00	132.10	80.00	1.27%	105,867
Veterinary Officer -Contract Hourly		62.00	104.60	63.00	1.61%	78,020
ATM	3,449,047					3,476,223	27,177
Meat Export-Area Technical Manager- Hourly		158.00	301.50	182.00	15.19%	1,652,863
Meat Export - Area Technical Manager- Daily		1,028.00	1,959.70	1,184.00	15.18%	1,623,360
OVERTIME	4,646,332					8,134,930	3,489,598
Meat Inspector						5,453,329
MI Overtime - Single time		6.30	6.60	6.60	4.76%	847,737
MI Overtime - Single time (minimum, non- continuous duty)		100.80	105.00	105.00	4.17%	-
MI Overtime - Time and half		9.50	9.90	9.90	4.21%	1,603,520
MI Overtime -Time and half (minimum,non-continuous duty)		152.00	159.00	159.00	4.61%	-
MI Overtime - Double time		12.60	13.20	13.20	4.76%	1,691,668
MI Overtime-Double time (minimum, non- continuous duty)		201.60	210.00	210.00	4.17%	-
MI Overtime - Double time and half		15.80	16.40	16.40	3.80%	47,833
MI Overtime - Double time and half (minimum, non-continuous duty)		252.80	263.00	263.00	4.03%	-
MI Shlftlosding- Weekday		0.95	1.00	1.00	5.26%	832,905
MIShiftloading-Saturday		3.20	3.40	3.40	6.25%	154,122
MI Shiftloading - Sunday		6.30	6.60	8.60	4.76%	186,791
MI Shiftloading -Public Holiday (ordinary)		9.50	9.90	9.90	4.21%	88,754
MI Shiftloading - Public Holiday (outside)		15.80	16.50	16.50	4.43%	-
On Plant Veterinary Officer						2,681,601
VO Overtime - Time and half		14.80	15.40	15.40	4.05%	920,586
VO Overtime - Time and half (minimum, non-continuous duty)		236.80	246.00	247.00	4.31%	-
VO Overtime - Double time		19.70'	20.60	20.50	4.06%	1,074,268
V6 Overtime - Double time (minimum, non-continuous duty)		315.20	328.00	328.00	4.06%	-
VO Overtime - Double time and half		24.60	25.60	25.60	4.07%	21,461
VO Overtime - Double time and half (minimum, non-continuous duty)		393.60	410.00	410.00	4.17%	-
VO Shiftloading -Weekday		1.50	1.60	1.60	6.67%	477,029
VO Shiftloading -Saturday		4.90	5.20	5.20	6.12%	85,011
VO Shiftloading - Sunday		9.80	10.30	10.30	5-10%	75,293
VO Shiftloading - Public Holiday (ordinary)		14.80	15.40	15.40	4.05%	27,951
VO Shiftloadin- Public Holiday (outside)		24.55	25.60	25.60	4.28%	-
Registration and Documentation	2,622,469					4,928,343.	2,305,874
Meat Health Certificate (Electronic)		11.00	12.00	12.00	9.09%	2,740,140
Meat Replacement Health Certificate		300.00	305.00	305.00	1.67%	212,483
Manual (Miscellaneous) Document Charge		30.00	31.00	31.00	3.33%	1,872,813
Wool Skins and Hides EXDOC		15.00	16.00	16.00	6.67%	102,907
Totals	69,171,738					69,171,687	51