Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Notification of ongoing service level delays
Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) again engaged with executives from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the department) on Friday, 22 January 2021 to discuss current service levels and advocated for an official update highlighting interim relief measures.
We are pleased to advise that this detail is now reflected in the following Industry Advice Notice – refer IAN 13-2021
As outlined in the Industry Advice Notice, the department has seen unprecedented demand for their services with increases in document assessments, imported food shipments and Self-Assessed Clearances (SACs). The measures referenced by the department across the short, medium and long term are expected to lead to an improved service standards.
In addition to the meeting last week, Paul Zalai (Director, FTA), Andrew Crawford (Member Representative – Border & Biosecurity, FTA/APSA) and I will be in Canberra next week for a series of meetings with departmental representatives to address longer term reforms such as:
- Increased utilisation of Approved Arrangements
- Process reform
- Technology enhancements and
- Additional funding requirements
FTA acknowledges that frustration amongst members are at an all-time high; completely understandable in light of the current service levels of the department.
Disappointingly, the department has provided evidence of abuse towards frontline departmental staff – no matter what the circumstances, this is clearly not acceptable and we urge members to remind all staff to maintain a professional and respectful relationship with departmental representatives.
FTA will continue to monitor feedback from members and liaise closely with the department to provide feedback on the improvements referred to in the Industry Advice Notice.