Appendix 3 – FSANZ processes for assessing Applications

PLEASE NOTE:  

On 1 July 2007, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 was amended.   New requirements and procedures for making an application to FSANZ to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code will come into effect on 1 October 2007.   The processes described below are those that were in operation during 2006-07.

Informationon the new processes can be found on the FSANZ website at www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/

FSANZ's process for assessing application

FSANZ’s primary role is developing or amending food standards to ensure the safety of food sold in Australia and New Zealand, to ensure the provision of adequate information to consumers and to prevent misleading or deceptive conduct.

FSANZ work is open for public scrutiny. When developing or changing a food standard, there are generally two rounds of public consultation.

Anyone can make an application to change a current standard or develop a new food standard or code of practice. FSANZ can also initiate the development or review of a standard by raising a proposal. Both follow the same steps (as set out below).   Guidelines on how to make an application are available from our Standards Management Officer or from the FSANZ web site. Any external application made to FSANZ must be processed within 12 months from date of commencement.

FSANZ continually looks at ways to improve its assessment processes. In recent years a number of changes have been adopted to improve the format of reports and to place greater emphasis on impact or cost-benefit assessment of regulatory options.

The steps are as follows.

1. Lodging the Application

One of the new features of the revised arrangements is the increased level of consideration given to Applications and Proposals at the early stage to inform interested stakeholders of the issues involved and to provide an opportunity for input into the assessment process prior to the Authority reaching a preferred outcome.

When we first receive an Application, preliminary scoping is carried out to determine the complexity or degree of contention of the application and to determine whether the Application falls within our area of responsibility. We check the Application is not duplicating any other and determine whether or not we have enough information to proceed.

2. Initial Assessment

The Initial Assessment stage involves the development of an Initial Assessment Report which, while providing some information to stakeholders, is used primarily to stimulate useful input from stakeholders by raising issues and asking questions.

Public submissions are invited through notices in newspapers, Food Standards News, circulars to interested stakeholders and on our website. The newspaper notices appear nationally in The Australian on Wednesdays and in New Zealand, The Dominion, The Press and The New Zealand Herald.

The consultation process is undertaken in line with the Community Involvement Protocol and varied according to the nature of the application.

3. Draft Assessment

After considering any submissions, we make a Draft Assessment. To do this, we must take into account our statutory objectives under Section 10 of the FSANZ Act and consider any relevant New Zealand standards and any other matters pertinent to the particular standard.

At this stage of the process, FSANZ undertakes most of its standards work. A comprehensive scientific risk assessment is undertaken, together with a regulatory impact analysis (incorporating a cost or risk benefit analysis).

The Board considers the Draft Assessment Report and, if endorsed, it is released for public comment. The report is posted on our website and stakeholders advised of its availability.

The report includes a draft proposed standard when the Board concludes that a new standard or an amendment to a standard is warranted.

4. More public consultation

After a standards amendment is drafted, a second round of public consultation usually follows. The proposed amendment is intended to become law, so any problems with the drafting should be notified to us without delay. After considering any further public submissions, we then fine-tune our recommendation as necessary and produce and publish a Final Assessment Report.

5. Ministers decide on food standards

The standards, once approved by the FSANZ Board, are notified to the Ministerial Council. Within 60 days of this notification, any jurisdiction on the Council may ask FSANZ to conduct a first review of the standards.

Alternatively, the Council may inform FSANZ that it does not intend to request a review. In the latter case, the standards become law at the date specified in a public notice. If the Council requests a review, FSANZ must conduct the review within three months and either re-affirm the decision, with or without amendments to the standard, or withdraw its approval of the standard to the Council.

If FSANZ re-affirms its decision, it must again notify the Council. The Council, by a majority decision, may then, within 60 days, request a second review or decide a second review is not required. After a second review, the Council may approve, amend or reject the standard. The Council will also be able to direct FSANZ to review any standard.

If the Council adopts the amendment, FSANZ gazettes the amendment and it becomes part of the food Standards Code, then automatically becomes law in the States, Territories and is gazetted in New Zealand.

Once the amendment becomes law, it is the responsibility of State and Territory governments and the New Zealand Ministry of Health to enforce the standards. AQIS is responsible for enforcing standards relating to imports.

Copies of public documents are available at our Australian and New Zealand offices and on our website.

We also regularly send out an Information Circular which updates progress on food standards matters. For more information about the detailed matters to do with food standards contact FSANZ’s Standards Management Officer in Canberra on (02) 6271 2258

In 2000-2001, FSANZ took over responsibility from the Commonwealth Department of Finance, for publishing the Food Standards Gazette. This is published on our website and provided electronically to any interested parties. The New Zealand Gazette continues to be published by the New Zealand Government.

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