Our stakeholders
Objectives
- Strengthen productive working relationships with our external interest groups and government partners.
Performance
- Level of stakeholder support for our regulatory approaches.
- Level and nature of stakeholder feedback, both formal and informal, provided through the industry advice line and information officer.
- Number of invitations to consultative forums by our government partners and stakeholders.
- Extent of stakeholder participation in our consultative processes.
- Level of engagement between stakeholders and ourselves.
Highlights
- Established a Consumer Liaison Committee and a Jurisdictional Forum.
- Implemented earlier and mutually beneficial collaboration with our jurisdictional partners.
- Extended our stakeholder contacts to all stages of the food supply chain.
- Upgraded the FSANZ website and informational materials for the public.
Overview
FSANZ maintains one of the most transparent standards-setting systems in the world. We publish summaries of Applications to amend the Food Standards Code on our website (unless confidentiality is claimed by the manufacturer) and we actively seek to involve as wide a range of stakeholders as possible in our operations.
In recent times, we have formed Standard Development Committees and Standard Development Advisory Committees to provide technical and regulatory advice. Typically, these committees comprise representatives from the relevant industry sector, consumer groups and our regulatory partners. They become involved in our regulatory deliberations at the commencement of a project, the intention being to identify and resolve contentious issues early in the piece rather than at the end.
We are required by legislation to consult widely. However, we recognise the value to an open and inclusive process of engaging with supporters and others at critical steps in the process. We are therefore devoting considerable human and financial resources to communication and consultation, partly to ensure that all interested parties are aware of the work in hand and, in part, to ensure that we are properly informed about the attitudes and views of our stakeholders.
Any individual or organisation can apply to amend the Food Standards Code. Everyone is potentially affected by the decisions we make – that is, everyone has a stake in our work. This adds to the imperative for FSANZ to cast a wide net when consulting.
We were gratified to see that the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) recognised our efforts to reach out to non-English speaking communities and Indigenous groups in Australia and New Zealand.
In a report card of how 84 departments and agencies are tailoring their services to meet the needs of all Australians, DIMIA selected FSANZ as a Good Practice Example for making its Food Safety fact sheets available on its website in fifteen languages. DIMIA also cited our Indigenous and Maori consultation policy, our Community Involvement Policy and our use of ethnic community newspapers, SBS and cooperation with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia to communicate with stakeholders.
We created a Consumer Liaison Committee specifically to gain an insight into the attitudes of individual consumers to food issues currently under consideration. This twelve-person committee will have access to senior management and to the FSANZ Board with its views. This is the first time that we have attempted to harness grassroots opinions into the regulatory process.
Because the food regulatory system is multi-layered, involving three levels of government and their agencies, it should come as no surprise that we develop contacts, briefings and other opportunities for interaction with the jurisdictions into our work.
During the year, we set up a Jurisdictional Forum to inform the standards setting process and created a formal Science Network to share scientific information. Working through the Implementation Sub Committee, we are making inroads into achieving national consistency for the enforcement of, and compliance with, standards.
Finally, our unique status as a bi-national standards-setting agency adds to the complexity of our consultation arrangements. We continued to involve the New Zealand Food Safety Authority as a strong partner in our work, including a seat at the table for Australia-only standards and other regulatory measures.
Efficiency and effectiveness of FSANZ’s processes
At present, FSANZ’s normally provides two opportunities for public consultation. In its review of our processes, the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) concluded that this was not necessary for many, if not most, Applications to amend an existing food standard. This is in line with our long-held view that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach implied by our legislation does not provide us with flexibility in standard setting.
The Ministerial Council accepted a recommendation that the FSANZ Act should be changed to require:
- Two rounds of public consultation for the development of a new food regulatory measure or a major variation to a food regulatory measure, such as a new food standard. The process would include ‘early bird’ notification to the public and a 12-months’ timeframe for completing the work.
- One round of public consultation for less substantial changes to an existing standard. This will, in effect, become the new default position for FSANZ’s consultation. The process would include ‘early bird’ notification to the public and a 9 months’ timeframe for completing the work.
- Nopublic consultation for minor changes to a standard – for example, editorial and other changes to improve clarity. FSANZ will provide ‘early bird’ notification to the public and complete the work within 3 months.
- Nopublic consultation for amendments to the health claims standard, providing the applicant with confidentiality. Information to substantiate high-level health claims will be assessed by appropriate government agencies and expert committees. FSANZ must complete such work within 9 months.
These changes to our consultation processes will apply to Applications received three months after proclamation of the amended FSANZ Act, that is, towards the end of 2006-07.