Strengthening Integrity System programs through improved compliance

Summary

A significant proportion of the trust and strong reputation of Australia’s $23 billion red meat industry can be attributed largely to its integrity systems. Elements of the red meat integrity system include the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) ensuring traceability, Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) ensuring on farm assurance and the National Vendor Declaration (NVD) providing verification of livestock treatments and on-farm management practices.

The NLIS enhances Australia’s ability to track livestock during disease and food safety incidents. It provides information through identification and traceability of livestock that underpins market access for Australian red meat globally. LPA is an independently audited, on‐farm assurance program covering food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity. The program provides evidence of livestock management history and on-farm practices when transferring livestock through the value chain. Producers declare this information on LPA NVDs, which are required for any movement of stock to processors, saleyards, or between properties if they have different Property Identification Codes (PICs).

NLIS, LPA and LPA NVDs are complemented by off-farm food safety initiatives, which together build a culture of shared responsibility among all Australian livestock owners: one that acknowledges and embraces their role and reputation as suppliers of safe, ethically-produced and high-quality food. While these systems remain recognised globally as being the best in the world, countries such as Uruguay are rapidly becoming known to having a system as good as or better than that of Australia.

Ensuring high levels of compliance are constantly achieved is imperative if Australia’s reputation is to be maintained. Non-compliance represents one of the greatest risks to the integrity systems, and requires robust monitoring and systems to ensure, where issues are identified, they are dealt with at an appropriate level of authority and penalty. With the establishment of the Integrity Systems Company (ISC), the management of all integrity systems now sit under a single entity. It is timely to focus on the issue of compliance and determine ways in which the current system could be further strengthened.

Objectives

In conjunction with industry stakeholders, conduct a thorough review of the integrity system compliance and key issues limiting compliance. The review should cover the following elements:
a) Define the current issues associated with managing compliance for the NLIS, LPA, and NVD systems and the key considerations industry needs to address over the next 5 to 10 years
b) Review the compliance data collected for the NLIS, LPA and NVD systems and identify any trends or insights, assess the adequacy of current measurables and recommend cost effective ways of improving compliance
c) Determine opportunities for streamlining/aligning with other red meat quality assurance programs (including branded products), particularly where independent auditing systems are in place
d) Review current KPIs used to measure success and establish more relevant and future KPI measures across all integrity system programs, including establishing baseline measures for compliance
e) Establish what the key roles and responsibilities of stakeholders are under the current compliance model, and recommend how it should be structured to better manage integrity system compliance into the future
f) Review current resource allocation across all integrity system programs including human and funding resources at a high level to distinguish the balance of funds to deliver increased compliance
g) Review state and federal legislation and auditing systems to determine current relevancy, where greater alignment could be achieved and any issues that reduce the effectiveness of managing compliance
h) Define what technology could assist with improving the management of compliance
i) Develop a definition of an effective, consistent, and transparent monitoring and reporting system
j) Develop an implementation plan that aligns with the findings and recommendations captured through objectives 1 (a) – (i).

Key findings

To improve the effectiveness of compliance activity, there are three broad areas of change to be undertaken:
▪ Focusing on areas of highest risk:
i. Re-frame standards as risk controls to be verified
ii. Develop processes for assessing risk and for a tiered approach to compliance activities
iii. Use communications and direct engagement to address compliance issues
▪ Using data to detect risk and prioritise compliance activities
i. Expand and formalise data sources from other organisations relevant to integrity systems
ii. Improve the uptake of eNVDs by producers and incorporate NVD data into compliance
activity
▪ Verify the level-level controls that maintain the integrity of the red meat sector
i. Expand accreditation process to collect property risk data and provide evidence of
compliance
ii. Address low information properties to verify compliance and promote online accreditation
submission processes
iii. Review effectiveness of intervention and ongoing monitoring in improving compliance

Benefits to industry

The purpose of the review was to identify the future direction of ISC programs and the use of data and insights to deliver more efficient compliance activities. The project delivered key recommendations, and outlined a timeline for interoperability improvements to improve efficiency and delivery of services.

Future research

To improve the effectiveness of compliance activity, there are three broad areas of change to be undertaken:
▪ Focusing on areas of highest risk:
i. Re-frame standards as risk controls to be verified
ii. Develop processes for assessing risk and for a tiered approach to compliance activities
iii. Use communications and direct engagement to address compliance issues
▪ Using data to detect risk and prioritise compliance activities
i. Expand and formalise data sources from other organisations relevant to integrity systems
ii. Improve the uptake of eNVDs by producers and incorporate NVD data into compliance
activity
▪ Verify the level-level controls that maintain the integrity of the red meat sector
i. Expand accreditation process to collect property risk data and provide evidence of
compliance
ii. Address low information properties to verify compliance and promote online accreditation
submission processes
iii. Review effectiveness of intervention and ongoing monitoring in improving compliance.