Update Mar 08

BIOSECURITY AUSTRALIA ADVICE 2008/11

CHICKEN MEAT IMPORT RISK ANALYSIS UPDATE

This Biosecurity Australia Advice (BAA) informs stakeholders that the Draft Final Import Risk Analysis Report for Chicken Meat has been referred to the Eminent Scientists Group for review.

Biosecurity Australia, with the assistance of an expert Import Risk Analysis (IRA) team, has completed its consideration of stakeholder comments submitted in response to the Draft IRA Report for Chicken Meat.  This draft report was issued in June 2006 (Biosecurity Australia Policy Memorandum 2006/18) with the extended comment period closing on 29 September 2006. Biosecurity Australia received 21 submissions and has subsequently held discussions with a number of stakeholders to ensure a complete understanding of relevant issues.

As advised in BAPM 2007/20 on the transitional arrangements for the new regulated IRA process, the chicken meat IRA is to be completed under the pre-regulated process.  A Draft Final report has now been referred to the independent Eminent Scientists Group (ESG).  The role of the ESG is to ensure that Biosecurity Australia has taken stakeholder comments properly into account in finalising the risk analysis and policy recommendations.  The ESG has up to 60 days to undertake its review.

Biosecurity Australia will take into account the recommendations of the ESG in producing a Final IRA Report.  The report, which is open to formal appeal, will then be published.

Following any appeal process (and implementation of appeal outcomes, if required) a final report and recommendations will be provided to the Director of Animal and Plant Quarantine, who will then make a quarantine policy determination.

Biosecurity Australia intends to complete the IRA in a timely fashion, giving full consideration to the issues raised in submissions.  The process of the eminent scientist review, formal appeal period and final policy determination is likely to be concluded in the second half of 2008.

Please pass this notice to other interested parties.  If those parties wish to be included in future communications on this matter they should get in touch with the contact officer listed below.  Alternatively, if you wish to be removed from the distribution list, please advise the contact officer.

Information on import risk analyses and policy reviews being conducted by Biosecurity Australia is available from the Biosecurity Australia website.

Confidentiality

Stakeholders are advised that, subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1988, all submissions received in response to BAAs will be publicly available and may be listed or referred to in any papers or reports on the subject matter of the Advice.

The Commonwealth reserves the right to reveal the identity of a respondent unless a request for anonymity accompanies the submission. Where a request for anonymity does not accompany the submission the respondent will be taken to have consented to the disclosure of his or her identity for the purposes of Information Privacy Principle 11 of the Privacy Act 1988.

The contents of the submission will not be treated as confidential unless the submission is marked ‘confidential’ and they are capable of being classified as such in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

JOHN CAHILL
Chief Executive

Contact officer: Robyn Martin
Telephone no: 02 6272 5444
Facsimile no: 02 6272 3399
E-mail:  Robyn Martin