Approved Auditor Application Fee and Costs

An Approved Auditor is a person trained and approved by the DAFF Biosecurity under export legislation to carry out regulatory audits of DAFF Biosecurity registered establishments engaged in the preparation, storage and/or loading of fish, egg, dairy and meat products for export as food. Approved Auditors can be engaged by DAFF Biosecurity registered establishments to conduct audits for compliance with legislative and importing country requirements and provide audit reports to DAFF Biosecurity. All Approved Auditors are subject to approval and on-going verification by DAFF Biosecurity.

What are the costs of applying to be an Approved Auditor?

Applicants will be charged a processing fee of $480.00 (based on the current fee-for-service charge for 3 hours, as per the schedule of charges for the Dairy, Egg and Fish Export Program). This fee is non-refundable and is payable at the time of application.

Upfront Costs - inclusions

Application Fee

The processing fee for applications will include:

• assessing the application to ensure all required information has been provided
• contacting the applicant if additional information is required
• provision of access to the relevant eLearning modules
• assessment of the applicant by witness audit
• provision of a letter of approval and ID card to successful applicant
• listing of Approved Auditors in the Approved Auditor Register
• provision of access to and training in the use of the DAFF Biosecurity Audit Management System (AMS).

Training Costs

Applicants meeting minimum requirements will be provided access to self-paced on-line training in the applicable DAFF Biosecurity legislative requirements. The cost of access to the eLearning modules is included in the application fee.

Assessment Costs

On successful completion of the on-line training, applicants will be assessed through a “witness audit”.

This assessment will assess the applicant’s skills and knowledge, understanding of the export legislation and will verify that the prospective Approved Auditor can appropriately interpret and apply the applicable export legislation.

The assessment will be undertaken during the routine audit of an export registered establishment engaged in operations applicable to the applicant’s commodity risk classification.

Where an applicant has applied for multiple commodities and/or high-risk classifications, more than one witness audit may be required.

The applicant is responsible for all of their own travel arrangements and costs with regards this assessment and, where applicable, any re-assessment that may be required.

Ongoing Costs

Renewal

The duration of an Approved Auditor’s approval with DAFF Biosecurity is for 12 months from the date of initial approval unless revoked. Approved Auditors must undergo an annual renewal process to maintain their Approved Auditor status.

While there is currently no renewal fee, a fee may be applied in the future.

Extension of Scope

Approved Auditors wishing to extend their scope of operations by varying their commodity risk classification/s are required to reapply to DAFF Biosecurity and provide all required supporting documentation. Applicants should note that, depending on the variation, an additional witness audit may be required.

While there is currently no fee applied for extension of scope, a fee may be applied in the future.

Costs associated with additional witness audits are the responsibility of the applicant.

Verification

Verification of Approved Auditors will occur via routine analysis of the Audit Management System (AMS) data. There will be no cost associated with this activity unless additional verification is required due to performance issues. This may be charged at the fee-for-service rate.

Further Information

For further information please contact DAFF Biosecurity on 07 3246 8717 or visit ECRI webpage.