afas newsletter april 2008 - issue 7

Welcome to the first issue of the Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme (AFAS) News for 2008.

The year is proving to be just as busy as 2007, with lots of continuing and new activities.

One of the highlights so far has been the very successful Quarantine Regulators Meeting held in March in Brisbane, Australia. Many positive outcomes came out of the meeting, which are reported on in this issue.

Other activities that have been keeping us busy are the audit training that was held in Papua New Guinea in January and the “Train-the-Trainer” training in the Philippines in March. We are also planning for AFAS India Joint Systems Review (JSR) at the end of April and AFAS Indonesia JSR at the end of May.

As always, open communication with all of you is very important, and we value your feedback on any and all AFAS issues.

David Cox
Manager – Offshore Development Unit (ODU)
Import Clearance
Cargo Management and Shipping

Team Member Profile

Name:
Mark King

Qualifications:
Bachelor of Economics, ANU.

Previous Occupations:
Project Manager, Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Hobbies:
Running, Chess, Emergency Services Volunteer.

Role in ODU:
Policy development.

Quarantine Regulators Meeting 2008: “Toward Implementing Harmonised Arrangements for Ensuring Effective Quarantine Treatments”

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) held the 2008 Quarantine Regulators Meeting “Toward Implementing Harmonised Arrangements for Ensuring Effective Quarantine Treatments” in Brisbane, Queensland, from the 4-6 March 2008. Partly funded by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and co-sponsored by Thailand, the meeting brought together government quarantine regulators from 18 different countries to discuss issues and share their experiences in the implementation of quarantine management systems.

The Meeting focused on AFAS which aims to address the high risk posed by ineffective methyl bromide fumigation treatments. The Meeting also discussed the development of a multilateral arrangement between interested countries to replace some of the bilateral arrangements that currently exist between Australia and other countries. Other topics for discussion included a proposal to establish a quarantine administration network and the feasibility of adopting other quarantine treatments as part of AFAS.

To top off the meeting, the delegates travelled to the Port of Brisbane, where they viewed the facilities and operations of Queensland’s largest general cargo port and visited the Brisbane AQIS regional office to observe import clearance operations.

But it wasn’t all hard work and no play. A river cruise gave everyone the opportunity to enjoy the scenic views of the Brisbane River by night. On the bus trip back to the hotel, delegates joined in a resounding chorus of ‘Waltzing Matilda’.

The Meeting was a great success, with participants agreeing to keep the dialogue open and meet again in another twelve months time.

For further information please contact the AFAS team by email.

AFAS Audit Training – Papua New Guinea

The first AFAS audit training course was delivered to 14 National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) officers in Port Moresby in January 2008.

The course was presented in two modules. Module 1 of the course covered the fundamentals of auditing and provided the participants with a good introduction to auditing in general. The skills learnt in Module 1 are not specific to AFAS audits and can be applied to a wide range of audit situations.

Module 2 of the course focused on applying the skills learnt in module 1 to conduct AFAS audits of registered fumigation treatment providers. The audits are performed against the requirements of the AQIS Methyl Bromide Fumigation Standard. Module 2 was interactive and consisted of a series of practical exercises and group discussions relating to the situations an auditor may encounter on an AFAS audit.

The participants provided some very positive feedback on the content, structure and relevance of the audit course and indicated that the training would assist them in their roles as regulatory officers.

^{Left to right Front row: Monica Kapram, John Susub, Kalu Namun, Wane Paina, John Field (Trainer) 2nd row: Namona Aihi, Benedict Ambassi, Gordon Weinert (AQIS) 3rd row: Danny Dai, Martin Pachichi, Wesley Sawala, Nathan Reid (AQIS) Back row: John Hobart, Dianah Maraga, Graham Roni, Ken Akau, Kumin Oua}

Alternatives to Methyl Bromide Symposium - New Zealand - 27 February 2008

Daryl Crapp, from the Audit and Review Team, attended the Alternatives to Methyl Bromide Symposium held in Wellington, New Zealand on Wednesday 27 February 2008.

Key speakers at the Symposium included:

Ken Glassey, Senior Adviser on Border Standards, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Biosecurity New Zealand;

Dr Gordon Hosking, Chair of Stakeholders in Methyl Bromide Reduction in New Zealand;

Dr Larry Zettler, former National Science Programme Leader for Agricultural Quarantine Inspection, United States Department of Agriculture; and

Janice Oliver, Office of the Chief Plant Protection Officer, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

A number of alternative treatments to methyl bromide were discussed including sulphuryl fluoride, iodomethane, ethandinitrile (EDN), carbonyl sulphide, ethyl formate and phosphine.

Recapture of fumigants was a high priority for many Symposium participants because of the increased awareness of the environmental damage that fumigants cause.

Heat treatment (moist and dry) and application of microwaves to the outside of some commodities and containers were also discussed.

The key message delivered at the Symposium was that for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes, there will be no one treatment that will replace methyl bromide because many of the alternative fumigants identified don’t effectively treat all life stages of pest species. Although work is ongoing to identify effective alternatives to methyl bromide, substantial work is still needed.

Philippines AFAS Training Team Established

Implementation of AFAS in the Philippines is a step closer with the establishment of the Philippines training team.

Train-The-Trainer (TTT) training was delivered to three Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) officers and three fumigation industry representatives in March 2008. TTT training provides participants with skills in classroom and practical training delivery, communication, presentation and competency based assessments.

^{TTT Training Manila, Philippines, March 2008. Clarito M. Barron (Assistant Director BPI), Larry R. Lacson (BPI), Mark Sheppard (Trainer), Ariel J. Bayot (BPI), Nathan Reid (AQIS), Bailey T. Yu (Industry), Alfredo T. Gonzalez (Industry), Marcelino Sillo (Industry), Lolita F. Masana (BPI)}

While in the Philippines competency re-assessments were also conducted in Manila and a further 10 BPI staff and fumigators are now AFAS accredited.

The AFAS training team looks forward to returning to the Philippines in the coming months to conduct competency assessments of those candidates trained by the Philippines training team.

AQIS would like to send a special thanks to all of the BPI staff and Industry representatives who contributed to making the visit a success.

AFAS Updates

The AQIS heat treatment standard

All comments in response to the draft AQIS heat treatment standard have been received.

We would like to thank everyone who provided comments. It is anticipated that the Standard will be made available on the AFAS website in mid 2008.

For further information:

For general AFAS enquiries please email

For AQIS import conditions see ICON

For past issues of the AFAS newsletters see website

Postal address:

Offshore Development Unit,
P.O Box 858
Canberra, ACT 2601
Australia.