Becoming certified organic is a process that can take between one month to three years to achieve, depending on the type of certification required. A processor, wholesaler, retailer, importer or exporter many only take one to two months from application to certification. A producer may be required to go through a few phases to full organic certification – pre-certification for one year, in-conversion for two years then fully certified organic.
If you wish to transfer your organic certification from another certifying body to OFC, please contact our friendly staff to discuss the process. We will make it as smooth as possible for you to make the transition to OFC certification.
Step 1
You may make initial enquires by phone, email or submitting an enquiry via our contact page.
Complete an application form, which we can email to you or you can download from here.
Submit the application by mail or email to ofc@organicfoodchain.com.au.
Application is assessed by OFC certification staff.
Successful application: Letter is sent to you, together with initial paperwork and invoice.
Unsuccessful application: Letter is sent to you together with reasons as to why your application is unsuccessful.
Step 2
Complete an Organic Management Plan (this will be sent to you with your application approval letter) and submit to us for approval prior to your initial inspection. Contact us here for an Organic Management Plan template.
An initial inspection is arranged by us with one of our organic inspectors. An initial inspection is conducted for those new to organic certification as well as those transferring from another organic certifying body.
An inspection report is written by OFC’s inspector and you will be asked to sign the report.
The inspection report is reviewed by OFC certification staff for compliance to the National Standard.
Certification is granted or a Corrective Action Request (CAR) is issued which needs to be addressed before certification can be granted.
A certification agreement and a logo agreement will be sent to you for signing and return to us prior to certificate issue.
A certificate is sent to you once certification is granted, together with your inspection report.
Step 3
Ongoing annual inspections and sampling of soil or product, or both, will occur to determine compliance to the National Standard in order for you to maintain organic certification.
In addition, other random or unannounced inspections may occur.
