Fish export registered establishments

All facilities that produce, prepare or store fish and fish products for export must be registered with us. This includes:

Australian fish ingredient suppliers
freight forwarders
manufacturers
processors
producers
storage facilities
vessels where product is packed on board for export
any establishment where the goods are stored or loaded for export.

This excludes the wharf and airport terminal.

If you operate an export registered establishment, you must:

understand Australian export laws
comply with your approved arrangement
issue all required documentation
meet importing country requirements
meet domestic licensing requirements.

Register

Before you can register, you must be approved for domestic purposes.

To register:

document the approved arrangement you will operate under
submit an application to register an export establishment
pay all fees and charges.

The department will:

check all staff listed in your application
check for any outstanding debt to the Commonwealth owed by the establishment
conduct an audit of your establishment to confirm details and effective implementation of your approved arrangement
approve your application, if you have met all requirements.

To export your own product (rather than sell to someone else to export), you must also register as an exporter.

If you supply products that are labelled or marketed as organic, you must register as an organic operator.

Approved arrangement

You must document your food safety management system. Once we approve it, it becomes an approved arrangement (AA). Your AA must detail how you will meet all requirements.

This includes:

your hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plan
food safety monitoring, controls and corrective action
hygiene and structural standards
staff training, knowledge and skills
product traceability, protection from contamination and safe handling of goods
importing country requirements
effective internal verification and management review.
All establishments must operate under an AA to export fish and fish products.

The department will review your AA as part of:

your application to register as an establishment
ongoing audits.

You must also make sure your processes meet testing requirements in product standards guideline — fish exports. This includes specific EU requirements.

New registrations

When you apply to register as an export establishment, the department will conduct an onsite audit. We will check all the systems documented in your AA.

If we find you non-compliant, you must:

correct any problems found
track effectiveness of corrective action
take steps to ensure the problem does not recur.

The department may conduct several audits before approving your application.

Ongoing audits

We regularly audit registered establishments. This is every 6 months for manufacturers and annually for storage establishments. We check compliance with your AA, export legislation and importing country requirements.

Audits vary based on:

the type of establishment
your history of compliance with your AA
investigations or complaints.

Consideration periods

The Export Control (Fish and Fish Products) Rules 2021 detail consideration periods for a new application or variation applications:

New application

Registered establishment - 120 days
Approved arrangement - 120 days

Application to vary

Registered establishment - 120 days
Approved arrangement - 120 days

The consideration period commences on the day following receipt of a completed application. The department may request more information from you as the applicant or request a site visit. The department must specify in writing a timeframe within which you must supply this information.

During the period that you are compiling the additional information or notifying of a suitable time for a site visit, the consideration period will be extended. This ensures the department has sufficient time to consider applications and provides certainty on timeframes for decisions on those applications.

The consideration period will be extended by the number of days specified in the ‘request for more information’, starting on the day the request was made and ending either:

on receipt of the requested information OR
when the deadline for the additional information request has passed.

If a decision has not been made prior to the consideration period for an application expiring, the application will be deemed to be refused. The applicant will be notified of this writing.

Documents and certificates

You are responsible for generating documents that declare export eligibility.

Importing countries may require certain documents to assure that your goods meet export conditions.

Declaration of compliance

Manufacturers of fish products for export are responsible for making a declaration of compliance.

The declaration confirms the goods are eligible for export, specifically that the product:

is fit for human consumption
meets all requirements under the Export Control (Fish and Fish Products) Rules 2021
complies with importing country requirements.

Each shipment must have a declaration of compliance. The declaration must assure that all products in the shipment comply.

Transfer declaration

You must make a transfer declaration when you:

receive fish and fish goods into your establishment
dispatch fish and fish goods from your establishment to another.

This does not apply if you are sending products straight to a wharf or airport.

The declaration must identify the specific goods and state that the product has been stored in accordance with:

the Export Control (Fish and Fish Products) Rules 2021
importing country requirements.

Products must only be transferred to registered establishments to be eligible for export.

Renewals and deregistration

We will renew your registration at the start of each financial year. We will send you a notification before renewing your registration.

If you decide to deregister your establishment you must write to us before 1 July.

A person listed in management and control of your establishment must sign your request. Send it to exportestablishmentregistration@aff.gov.au

To register again, you must follow all the steps for a new registration of an establishment.

If you owe us money, we cannot re-register you until you pay all debts in full.

Exemptions from export legislation

You can apply for an exemption from parts of the Export Control (Fish and Fish Products) Rules 2021.

To apply:

check that your export activity is eligible
complete an application for exemption
get the form signed by a person listed in management and control of your establishment
send your completed, signed form to Dairy eggs fish

Submit your application at least 10 working days before your proposed date of export.

Eligibility

The department only grant exemptions for products under certain circumstances.

Commercial samples

If they do not exceed:

50 litres (in liquid form)
60 kilograms (in solid or other form)

Exceptional circumstances

Circumstances that arise in:

the product
preparation of the product
the act of exporting the products.

These requests will be considered where the usual application of export legislation cannot be applied.

For example, a non-registered establishment sending prescribed goods for humanitarian aid purposes.

Experimental purposes

May involve:

a test, trial or a tentative procedure to discover something unknown or testing a principle or theory.

For example, an establishment sending product for further processing in another country using equipment or testing not available in Australia.

Special circumstances