Exposure Draft Export Control (Rabbit and Ratite Meat and Rabbit and Ratite Meat Products) Rules 2020
Public consultation on the Exposure Draft Export Control (Rabbit and Ratite Meat and Rabbit and Ratite Meat Products) Rules 2020 has closed.
The department did not receive any submissions on the draft Rabbit and Ratite Rules over the consultation period from 26 October 2020 to 8 January 2021.
Details of consultation on the draft Rabbit and Ratite Rules
We are improving Australia’s agricultural export legislation. This is part of our wider initiative to strengthen Australian agricultural exports and market access.
The improvements:
- make the laws more relevant, responsive and efficient
- continue to provide the same level of regulatory oversight
- remove duplication
- ensure consistency across commodities where possible.
This will help exporters, manufacturers, farmers and other primary producers.
The Rabbit and Ratite Rules set out the operational details for regulating exports of rabbit and ratite meat and rabbit and ratite meat products. The Rabbit and Ratite Rules replace previous legislation. This includes the Export Control (Rabbit and Ratite Meat) Orders 1985.
Read about how we are improving Australia's agricultural export legislation.
World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation
This consultation process forms part of our WTO 60-day consultation. It allows our stakeholders to provide feedback. This includes our international trading partners.
We have notified our trading partners about the consultation. This meets Australia’s obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures.
Background
In 2015 we reviewed agricultural export legislation. Based on the review, the government decided to improve agricultural export legislation.
The new legislative framework for Australia’s agricultural exports commenced on 28 March 2021. It comprises the Export Control Act 2020 and Export Control Rules 2020. The Act consolidates export certificate provisions found in around 20 Acts and 40 legislative instruments.
The Export Control Rules 2020 outline the operational requirements that agricultural exporters must meet to export specific commodities from Australia. They are based on the:
- previous orders
- regulations for various commodities under the Act
- Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.
We consulted on 12 draft Rules over 3 tranches:
- Tranche 1 includes the 7 draft Rules for eggs and egg products, fish and fish products, meat and meat products, milk and milk products, organic goods, plant and plant products, poultry meat and poultry meat products. Submission closed 5 November 2020.
- Tranche 2 includes the 3 draft Rules for animals, rabbit and ratite meat products and wild game meat products. Submissions closed 8 January 2021.
- Tranche 3 includes the miscellaneous and wood draft Rules. Submissions closed 24 January 2021.
The Rules will give effect to the Act.
The new legislation ensures:
- exported goods meet the requirements of importing countries
- government and relevant industry standards are complied with
- goods are traceable throughout the export supply chain—from production and processing to exporting—where required
- the integrity of goods, and the accuracy of applied trade descriptions and official marks, are maintained.
We developed the new legislative framework in consultation with stakeholders. This ensures it supports growth and innovation while maintaining the standards our trading partners expect.
What happens next
The new export legislation framework commenced on 28 March 2021.
