23 August 2019
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise industry that work has commenced to integrate existing third-party plant exports software with the department’s Plant Exports Management System (PEMS).
Summary of changes and key points
- The department has commenced work to integrate existing third-party plant exports software programs with PEMS.
- Successful development and testing has already occurred with a number of third-party software developers for Empty Container inspections.
- Development is underway for Containerised Goods and Quality Systems Recognition inspections.
- System integration will be available at the end of November 2019.
- The PEMS Software Developers Guide is available for interested vendors/developers. If you would like a copy of the guide please contact the PEMS Technical Support team.
Industry responsibilities
- Exporters who currently use a third-party software program to record Empty Container, Containerised Goods or Quality Systems Recognition inspections will need to check with their provider to ensure that they are preparing their system for integration with PEMS.
- Developers of third-party plant export software should engage with the department as soon as possible to participate in testing during the development stage.
- Involvement in the testing stage will allow developers to provide feedback and accommodate any changes to their software ready for exporter use by May 2020.
Background
PEMS is an IT system that is used to capture and store information relating to the export of plants and plant products from Australia; including plant product export inspection, in-transit cold treatment (ITCT) calibration results and transport units.
In May 2019, PEMS was made available to all plant export external AOs, exporters, EDI users and registered establishment executives, across Australia.
Businesses that use third party plant exports software programs were exempt from using PEMS until system integration work was completed.
The use of PEMS for the export of plants and plant products will be mandatory from May 2020.
Further information about PEMS is available on the Plant Export Management System webpage. Refer to IAN 2019-32, 2019-20, 2018-47 and 2018-55 for further background.
Contact information
For more information about PEMS system integration, please contact the PEMS Technical Support team.
David Ironside
Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch