Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group

Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group communiqués

Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group membership

Australian Agricultural Traceability Strategic Reference Group

The Australian Agricultural Traceability Strategic Reference Group (SRG) has been established by the AATGG as part of the Australian Agricultural Traceability Alliance. The former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced the group’s establishment via media release on 15 November 2023.

The SRG provides technical, operational, and strategic advice to the AATGG and other technical working groups as required. The guidance and advice focuses on current and emerging issues, research priorities and implementation approaches.

Through its membership, the SRG strengthens linkages between industry, governments, professional bodies, and other key stakeholders to support a comprehensive and sustainable agricultural traceability ecosystem.

The SRG also provides insight and advice to other working groups to support the strategy and implementation plan.

The SRG’s role includes providing advice about:

• the development of the implementation plan
• agricultural commodity tracking and tracing technologies and capabilities
• agricultural regulatory management frameworks, reducing regulatory burden and streamlining government interactions
• data-enabled, adaptable, traceable ecosystems
• national interoperable automated systems reducing interface costs
• new and emerging product claim requirements and changing market demands
• national and international collaboration and partnerships on agricultural traceability
• protecting Brand Australia, influencing international trends, and demonstrating our world class systems
• collaborative agricultural traceability education, research, and development agenda
• understanding of, and responding to, risks and opportunities
• clear governance for traceability initiatives creating transparency and accountability.

Strategic Reference Group membership

Technical working groups

The AATGG also established 3 technical working groups as part of the Australian Agricultural Traceability Alliance framework. They provide technical, operational, and strategic advice to the AATGG and other working groups as required.

Australian Agricultural Traceability Data Standards Working Group

The Australian Agricultural Traceability Data Standards Working Group (DSWG) is responsible for developing a data standards consultative paper to advise AgTech solutions and systems that promote data sharing and interoperability across the supply chain. The DSWG also provides guidance and advice to the AATGG and other associated working groups as required on data standards priorities to support the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033 and its associated implementation plan.

Guidance and advice to the AATGG and other working groups includes advice on these key topics:

• how data standards can achieve the outcomes from the strategy and implementation plans
• current and future data standards needs for agricultural traceability
• trends in traceability data standards that could affect Australian agriculture
• development of best practice data standards for traceability in Australian Agriculture
• how other working groups could align their work/advice/priorities with the data standards priorities to meet the needs of the strategy and implementation plans
• national and international collaboration and partnerships on agricultural traceability standards
• understanding of, and responding to, risks and opportunities within agricultural traceability
• gap analysis and horizon scanning to identify the current national data standard priorities for agricultural traceability and develop national priority data standard objectives
• insight and advice to other working groups to support priority alignment and to meet the needs of the strategy and implementation plan.

Food Agility CRC provides the secretariat.

Data Standards Working Group membership

Australian Agricultural Traceability Assuring Sustainability Claims Working Group

The Australian Agricultural Traceability Assuring Sustainability Claims Working Group (ASCWG) has an advisory role. It provides expertise on the requirements for sustainability datasets to ensure they are accessible, searchable, interoperable and are of high quality to be leveraged by the agricultural sector. This provides verification of sustainability-based claims and supports export and compliance processes.

Guidance and advice to the AATGG and other working groups covers these key topics:

• emerging regulatory and non-regulatory requirements impacting the agriculture sector focused on sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance reporting considerations
• required data points to be integrated into traceability systems to act as an anchor for multiple sustainability attributes and claims
• how existing sustainability datasets can be leveraged in Australia’s traceability systems and export processes to demonstrate and verify sustainability claims to bring value added benefit across the supply chain
• considerations for future sustainability datasets to enable interoperability and data sharing for multiple purposes (e.g., State of Environment Reporting, Agricultural sustainability claims for export and demonstrating progress towards international commitments)
• identification of alternative or other regulatory and compliance datasets that may be repurposed to support the agricultural sector demonstrate and verify sustainability claims
• providing insight and advice to other working groups to support alignment with and achievement of the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033 and its associated implementation plan.

The National Farmers’ Federation provides the secretariat.

Assuring Sustainability Claims Working Group membership

Australian Agricultural Traceability Research & Development Working Group

The Australian Agricultural Traceability Research and Development Working Group (R&DWG) focuses on the research and development (R&D) requirements and priorities to deliver the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy 2023 to 2033 and provides advice on these to the AATGG.

The R&DWG provides guidance and advice to the AATGG and associated working groups to support the strategy, the National Agricultural Traceability Implementation Plan, and the Trusted Agrifood Exports Mission.

Guidance and advice to the AATGG and other working groups focuses on:

• how R&D can achieve outcomes for the strategy, implementation plan and the mission
• current R&D needs to be considered for the strategy including:
  • technological
  • digital
  • cyber security
  • data standards
  • data sharing
  • governance
  • interoperability
• intellectual property
• current and future R&D needs for agricultural traceability
• trends in R&D traceability that could affect Australian agriculture
• how other working groups could align with R&D priorities to meet the needs of the strategy and its implementation plan
• strong national and international collaboration and partnerships on agricultural traceability
• collaborative agricultural traceability education, research, and development agenda
• understanding of, and responding to, risks and opportunities
• clear governance for traceability initiatives creating transparent accountability
• providing insight and advice to other working groups to support priority alignment and to meet the needs of the strategy and implementation plan

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation provides the secretariat for the R&DWG.

Research & Development Working Group membership