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Departmental Overview
Table of Contents
Role and functions
Outcome and output structure
Values
Planning for the future
Organisational structure
Exercise Minotaur
Business Excellence
Role and functions
The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) is responsible for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food. The department’s mission is:
Increasing the profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agricultural, fisheries, forestry and food industries and enhancing the natural resource base to achieve greater national wealth and stronger rural and regional communities.
Through undertaking a diverse range of activities the department seeks to:
- enhance the natural resource base on which our portfolio industries rely
- promote a profitable, competitive and sustainable business environment
- assist Australia’s entire food supply chain, from producer to processor to consumer, to become more globally competitive
- gain, maintain and improve market access
- minimise the impact of pests, diseases and contaminants on portfolio industries and contribute to the health and welfare of farm animals
- keep Australia free of exotic pests and diseases, and ensure export standards
- deliver scientific advice, assessments and tools for decision making
- deliver economic advice, forecasts and analysis.
To deliver our mission, the department works closely with our clients, that is – Ministers and the Parliamentary Secretary, portfolio industries, non-government organisations, producers and processors, consumers, importers and exporters, natural resource managers, travellers, rural and regional communities and state and territory governments.
Values
The department adheres to the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct, with a focus on particular characteristics that guide us in how we do business and treat one another. Our values are:
Professionalismdoing the best job we can; serving our clients in a practical, diligent, rigorous and outcome- focused way
Integrity - behaving ethically; acting with honesty, loyalty and courage
Openness - building trust; being frank, open to ideas, and accessible to staff and clients
Fairness - ensuring people get a fair go and that all are treated equally and justly
Respect - respecting each other, our families, our clients, those with different ideas and from diverse backgrounds and other cultures.
By basing our work on these values, we provide high quality results that meet the expectations of the Australian Government, our clients and stakeholders.
You can find more information about the service we aim to provide in our Corporate Plan and Client Service Charter. The department has also developed staff guidelines for engaging specific client groups (see www.daff.gov.au).
Organisational structure
The portfolio comprises the department, two statutory marketing authorities, three regulatory authorities and nine research and development corporations (see Figure 1).
The department consists of nine Business Groups, Management Services and Governance (see Figure 2) that work together to deliver its Outputs.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Warren Truss MP, the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Judith Troeth, oversee the portfolio.
In November 2002, the Prime Minister announced the addition of fisheries to Senator Macdonald’s ministerial appointment formally acknowledging his important role concerning fisheries, as well as his other responsibilities in the portfolio.
Following the retirement of Deputy Secretary Geoff Gorrie PSM in December 2002, the department appointed two new deputy secretaries, Don Banfield and Meryl Stanton PSM. Ms Stanton has also retained the role of Executive Director of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).
In March 2003, the department initiated a review into its research activities. The review focused in particular on opportunities for improving research collaboration by its two research bureaus, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) and the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS). The department sought the views and suggestions of more than 60 key external and internal stakeholders, as well as staff. The review clearly identified that the bureaus have national and international reputations for the quality of their research and analysis on vital issues affecting rural and regional Australia. The review was invaluable in identifying areas where BRS and ABARE can work more closely together to provide a multidisciplinary approach to significant issues, such as natural resource management, drought and climate change modelling.
Business Excellence
The department launched its Business Excellence Framework in December 2002. The framework pulls together the department’s internal business elements to illustrate how our internal processes and the policy and services we produce combine to provide results and outcomes for clients and customers. The framework also has a strong emphasis on leadership and continuous improvement.
Portfolio Structure
Organisational structure as at 30 June 2003
Click image for larger siz graphic
Outcome and output structure
On 1 July 2002, a change to the department’s output structure came into effect. This reflected an Australian Government decision to outsource the administration of the National Food Industry Strategy to a new company, National Food Industry Strategy Ltd.
The department retained responsibility for food processing, relevant food regulation policy and supply chain policy development and implementation of some government-to-government programs. As a result, the department’s business group and output structure was altered to reflect this change and maintain a clear connection between the work undertaken by the department and its Outputs.
The department has eight interlinking Outputs:
- Natural Resources Access and Management
- Rural Policy and Innovation
- Industry Development
- Market Access and Biosecurity
- Product Integrity, Animal (including Aquatic Animal) and Plant Health
- Quarantine and Export Services
- Scientific Advice
- Economic Research
These Outputs work to achieve the department’s Outcome of:
Australian agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries that are based on the sustainable management of and access to natural resources, are more competitive, self-reliant and innovative, have increased access to markets, are protected from diseases and are underpinned by scientific advice and economic research.
Figure 3
Output structure from a market supply chain perspective
Planning for the future
The department uses environmental scanning and scenario planning to identify future issues our agricultural, fisheries, forestry and food industries stakeholders may face. Looking ahead provides the department with the opportunity to plan and develop strategies to help industries remain profitable, competitive and sustainable in their changing operating environment. It also helps our industries to be more prepared and better positioned to take advantage of opportunities and respond to challenges.
In its 2002-2005 Corporate Plan, the department identified the following as issues that will drive Portfolio industries and the way we do business over the next 10 to 15 years.
- Nature of products – the trend toward consumers wishing to be more informed about the content and quality of products.
- Nature of farming and production – structural adjustment is leading towards either larger and more capital intensive farms or smaller farms that will likely provide niche goods and services.
- Market access – international negotiations will continue to be of key strategic importance to our industries.
- Diseases, pests and welfare – as movement of people and goods around the world increases, new disease and pest threats will continue to have a major impact on our work.
- Natural resource management – the way natural resources are managed, such as water and salinity.
- Social attitudes and values – are becoming increasingly important in the ‘how and what’ is produced by our stakeholders.
- Innovation – Australia must continue to improve agricultural productivity in order to be competitive and sustainable.
Exercise Minotaur
Exercise Minotaur tested Australia’s ability to manage an FMD outbreak in response to the devastating events in the UK in 2001. The UK outbreak led to the destruction of over 6 million head of stock, and a cost to the government of £3 billion and £5 billion to the private sector. A recent study revealed that a large FMD outbreak in Australia would cost $450 million in disease control and compensation and $9 billion in lost export earnings.
The exercise involved 1000’s of people from all governments and relevant industries up to the highest levels. It was the largest, most complex exercise of its kind undertaken in Australia, and overseas observers were impressed by the robustness of our systems.
The exercise examined national decision-making, communication, and existing emergency arrangements, including
- integration of national government and industry
- capacity of Australian resources to manage an FMD outbreak and its consequences
- disease control policies and strategies
- trade management
- socio-economic and recovery strategies and processes.
Since the exercise, governments and industry have worked closely to strengthen Australia's ability to prevent and, in the worst case, respond to a major pest or disease emergency. Lessons highlighted the need for a whole-of-government approach for such situations, the critical role of good information and coordination systems, the large scale of public communications that would be required in a real event, and the need for up-to-date and well-understood disease control policies and capabilities.