Exposure Draft Export Control (Animals) Rules 2020

Public consultation on the Exposure Draft Export Control (Animals) Rules 2020 has closed.

The department received six submissions on the draft Animals Rules over the consultation period from 26 October 2020 to 8 January 2021.

The department received feedback on three key issues:

• practical operation of exporter supply chain assurance operations.
• reporting and transparency obligations in relation to exporter supply chain assurance operations.
• clarification of terminology used throughout the Animals Rules and amendments to improve readability.

The department made some changes to the Exposure Draft Animals Rules in response to the feedback.

Two of the submissions received have been published on this page and the remaining submissions were not published because they were confidential.

Details of consultation on the draft Animals Rules

We are improving Australia's agricultural export legislation. This is part of our wider initiative to strengthen Australian agricultural exports and market access.

The improvements:

• make the laws more relevant, responsive and efficient
• continue to provide the same level of regulatory oversight
• remove duplication
• ensure consistency across commodities where possible.

This will help exporters, farmers and other primary producers.

The Animals Rules set out the operational details for regulating exports of live animals and animal reproductive material. The Animals Rules replace the previous legislation.

Read about how we are improving Australia's agricultural export legislation.

Previous consultation

We consulted domestically on a previous version of the draft Animals Rules. The feedback received has helped us improve the draft Animals Rules. Read an overview of the most common issues raised and our responses.

World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation

This consultation process forms part of our WTO 60-day consultation. It allows our stakeholders to provide feedback. This includes our international trading partners.

We have notified our trading partners about the consultation. This meets Australia's obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures.

Background

In 2015 we reviewed agricultural export legislation. Based on the review, the government decided to improve agricultural export legislation.

The new legislative framework for Australia's agricultural exports commenced on 28 March 2021. It comprises the Export Control Act 2020 and Export Control Rules 2020. The Act consolidates export certificate provisions found in around 20 Acts and 40 legislative instruments.

The Export Control Rules 2020 outline the operational requirements that agricultural exporters must meet to export specific commodities from Australia. They are based on the:

• current orders
• regulations for various commodities under the Act
• Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.

We consulted on 12 draft Rules over 3 tranches:

• Tranche 1 included the 7 draft Rules for eggs and egg products, fish and fish products, meat and meat products, milk and milk products, organic goods, plant and plant products, poultry meat and poultry meat products. Submission closed 5 November 2020.
• Tranche 2 included the 3 draft Rules for animals, rabbit and ratite meat products and wild game meat products. Submissions closed 8 January 2021.
• Tranche 3 included the draft Miscellaneous Rules and draft Wood Rules. Submissions closed 24 January 2021.

The Rules will give effect to the Act.

The new legislation ensures:

• exported goods meet the requirements of importing countries
• government and relevant industry standards are complied with
• goods are traceable throughout the export supply chain—from production and processing to exporting—where required
• the integrity of goods, and the accuracy of applied trade descriptions and official marks, are maintained.

Developing the new legislative framework in consultation with stakeholders will ensure it is clear and fit for purpose – supporting growth and innovation while maintaining the standards our trading partners expect.

What happens next

The new export legislation framework commenced on 28 March 2021.