The Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports, Mr Ross Carter, published a review on livestock export licences and approved arrangements on 11 October 2022. The review made 4 recommendations to improve the department’s regulation of export licence applications and approved arrangements.

This is the inspector-general’s 5th review and, collectively, these reviews cover all the major processes involved in the regulation of livestock exports. They are intended to be considered as a body of work providing guidance for the department to improve Live Animal Export’s regulatory practice in accordance with the objectives of the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Act 2019.

Approved arrangements were implemented in 2016 as part of a red tape reduction reform. The initial principles and approaches were aligned with improved regulatory practice. However, failure to fully implement the reform, with the focus predominantly on efficiency gains, meant that performance and compliance levels were not maintained or improved. The Inspector-General would like to reiterate the need for the department to be rigorous in its approach to risk controls.

The inspector-general has suggested a fundamental change in the way export licences and approved arrangements are used to identify required outcomes more clearly, simplify the framework, and reduce red tape. Accordingly, the review recommends that a range of documents and elements of the framework should be prescribed by the department.

The review considered matters that would arise from the changes recommended to approved arrangements, and the department’s progress on implementing a proportionate response model. A critical element of modern regulatory practice is the ability to respond effectively when non-compliance is detected. Accordingly, the review recommends that the department develop options to provide a more accessible regulatory powers and sanctions regime, move away from the current complex and ambiguous approach, and ensure a level playing field by responding proportionately to poor performance.

The inspector-general would like to thank those stakeholders who provided information to inform this review.

The review can be viewed on the IGLAE website.