Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) has received advice from members of significant challenges in securing inspection bookings in relation to goods subject to Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS). In one example reported to FTA the next available inspection booking was one month away.
FTA regularly engages with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) on this issue and and would like to share the following updates:
- Recruitment efforts: DAFF is actively recruiting additional frontline staff to address the shortage, though challenges remain in this area.
- Specialised skills: Officers trained in imported food inspections possess specialised skills, making them highly sought after for other roles within DAFF, which further impacts the availability of inspection staff.
- Training initiatives: DAFF is working to expand its inspection capacity by training additional staff in the Imported Food inspection skill set.