News
Authorised officer program
Package to assist small exporters
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources ( DAWR ) has funding available to help exporters appoint their own Authorised Officer ( AO ) to facilitate exports – but only until June 30 , this year .
This funding is available to cover initial training , assessment and appointment of up to 400 AO candidates across horticulture , increasing the number of AOs by more than a third . The AOs will be able to conduct up to five nominated job functions , including export inspections of fruit as well as phytosanitary treatments – intransit cold treatment .
As DAWR now has a tier for small exporters , growers / packers who export less than 400t of fruit per year can apply to become a “ registered establishment ”. Having an AO to conduct inspections at the packhouse has clear advantages in production efficiency .
For registered establishments the cost is $ 1,200 in the first year , then an annual fee of $ 600 .
More information
More information is available at http :// www . agriculture . gov . au / export / controlled-goods / plants-plant-products / ian / 2017 / 2017-08 .
Applications to become a registered establishment become available in June / July this year , when DAWR issues a call for exports to all phytosanitary-affected markets .
Orchard and packhouse registrations will be conducted through a new online portal . Training will be held in conjunction with pest and disease monitoring workshops , dates to be advised . summerfruit . com . au April 2017 | Australian Stonefruit Grower 23