GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Australian National Organic Standard & General Guidelines
National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce Edition 3.8
Application to Amend National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce
Requirements to Issue & Manage OGC’s
Administrative Arrangements for Approved Arrangements
Export Control (Organic Goods) Rules 2021
Export Control (Organic Goods) Rules 2021 Explanatory Notes
Export Documents
EXPORTS TO ALL MARKETS EXCEPTING EUROPEAN UNION (EU), GREAT BRITAIN AND SWITZERLAND
The Australian Government Organic Goods Certificate (EX1401) is used for export markets other than EU, Great Britain and Switzerland. Please contact us if you are uncertain as to whether your product has access to particular markets.
EXPORTS TO THE EU
Organic export certificates for the EU are now lodged through an electronic system known as TRACES. If you are sending a consignment to the EU for the first time, please contact us so we can advise you on how to register for a login account on TRACES.
The TRACES Certificate of Inspection (COI) is completed online for each consignment to the EU. This is known as the importing country requirement. Once a COI is completed, OFC is notified that there is a COI awaiting our approval. Once the COI is approved, we will send you a PDF of the COI to you. The EU also receiveS an electronically signed COI from OFC.
In addition to the TRACES COI, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry also requires EX1401 to be completed. This is known as the exporting country requirement.
Before the consignment leaves Australia, both of these documents need to be sent to OFC, together with supporting documents, in order for OFC to approve the documents.
EXPORTS TO GREAT BRITAIN
Organic export certificates for Great Britain (GB) started using a new system from 1 January 2021.
The Great Britain Certificate of Inspection (GB COI) is a form completed manually for each consignment to Great Britain. This is known as the importing country requirement.
In addition to the GB COI, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry also requires EX1401 to be completed. This is known as the exporting country requirement.
Before the consignment leaves Australia, both of these documents need to be sent to OFC, together with supporting documents, in order for OFC to approve the documents.
EXPORTS TO SWITZERLAND
Swiss Confederation Certificate of Inspection for Import of Products from Organic Production is no longer applicable. EX1401 is now used for exports to Switzerland.
Before the consignment leaves Australia, this documents need to be sent to OFC, together with supporting documents, in order for OFC to approve the documents.
OFC CERTIFIED OPERATORS
CERTIFIED OPERATORS FORMS
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS & CONSULTATIONS
A list of the current DAFF organic Industry Advice Notices is located here.
Check what the DAFF has currently open for public consultation here. Some of these are specifically related to organic, others are related to various other agricultural commodities.
Subscribe to receive DAFF newsletters and industry notices by email here.
If you have a question about the content of, or an interpretation of, the National Standard, you can use an online form to lodge your question with DAFF here. Questions will be provided to the National Standard Advisory Committee (NSAC) for review. All questions and answers will be publicly released. Any commercial-in-confidence information submitted as part of an application must be clearly marked. Where indicated, this information will remain with the department and the NSAC, and not be released to industry.
EXPORTING INFORMATION
GENERAL EXPORTING INFORMATION
Exporting over 10 kg or 10 litres of certified organic product from Australia requires an Organic Goods Certificate (OGC). This is referred to as a Government to Government certificate.
The Export Control (Organic Goods) Rules 2021 prohibits the export of certified organic produce from an Australian territory, or from a part of an Australian territory, unless an OGC has been issued for the product, regardless of the importing country requirements. The primary objective of the export organic program is to ensure that organic and bio-dynamic products exported from Australia meet the requirements of importing countries, ensuring the integrity of that international organic market access.
These documents are a requirement of the Australian Government and require authorisation by an approved certification body such as OFC. The OGC must be completed by the exporter and approved by OFC prior to the shipment leaving Australia.
If you are exporting certified organic products, all stages of the organic chain, including producers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and exporters, must be certified by a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry approved certifying body. All operations from production through to exportation must be verified to the point of final packaging.
Above we list various export certificates that we can authorise for you.
If you are looking for information on organic standards, certification schemes and import regulations in different countries to understand the requirements for importing to those organic markets, this website might be useful.
OFC can authorise OGC’s even if you are not an OFC certified operator.
EXPORTING ORGANIC PRODUCTS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)
For the purposes of importing certified organic product to the EU from Australia, Australia is classified as a ‘Third Country’. Authority for this is listed in Commission Regulation (EC) 1235/2008, Article 18. Under the equivalence agreement between the EU and Australia, certain products may be imported as certified organic into the EU. These are listed in Annexe III of Commission Regulation (EC) 1235/2008 and include unprocessed plant products, processed agricultural products for use as food (excluding wine and yeast) [composed essentially of one or more ingredients of plant origin] and vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.
Information about importing certified organic products to the EU from Australia can be found here:
Importing organic produce to the EU
Legislation for the organics sector
Rules for organic production and products
EXPORTING ORGANIC PRODUCTS TO GREAT BRITAIN
From 1 January 2021, the Certificate of Inspection for Import of Products from Organic Production into Great Britain (GB COI) must be used for all goods declared as organic and imported into Great Britain. Market Access Advice 2020-07 covers all of the requirements, the main points listed below.
Introduction of Great Britain’s COI on 1 January 2021:
- From 1 January 2021, a GB COI system is required for organic goods exported to Great Britain.
- A hardcopy GB COI is required to be sent to the relevant Port Health Authority in Great Britain in order to complete the import clearance process.
- The GB COI requires signing by an Approved Certifying Body prior to export from Australia.
Access changes to the TRACES NT system:
- From 1 January 2021, border officials in Great Britain will lose access to TRACES NT.
- For consignments arriving after 1 January 2021, the importer in Great Britain needs to complete import documentation outside of TRACES NT.
- The import documentation and original hardcopy GB COI then needs to be provided to the relevant Great Britain Port Health Authority.
