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Official Assurances Programme

25 Authorised Persons Designated to Sign NZFSA Export Certificates

Version 6

June 2006

25.1 Procedure for the designation of authorised persons under Section 65 of the Animal Product Act 1999

25.1.1 Clause 25.1 applies only to employees of the Verification Agency.

25.1.2 To be nominated for designation as an authorised person to issue official assurances on behalf of the Director-General under section 65 of the Act, and to withdraw and reissue official assurances under section 64 of the Act, the nominee must meet the following criteria:

a. Be employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

b. Have satisfactorily completed a NZFSA approved certification training programme.

c. Be assessed for competence to certify by a Verification Agency person with the requisite knowledge and skills to be able to make such an assessment. This assessment must include knowledge and application of:

i. certification systems; and

ii. certification ethics including the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinarians, Part 2; and

iii. the current version of the Animal Products (Official Assurances Specifications) Notice; and

iv. the Official Assurance Programme.

25.1.3 A recommendation for designation must be sent to the Programme Manager (Production & Processing) Approvals & ACVM Group by the Training Manager, Verification Agency which includes a statement to the effect that the nominee has been judged to be competent to issue, reissue and withdraw official assurances on behalf of the Director-General.

25.1.4 The Verification Agency must maintain an ongoing audit programme and skill maintenance programme that ensures that authorised persons retain the required level of competence to perform these statutory functions on behalf of the Director-General. The programme must be documented and consistent with good audit practice.

25.1.5 The nominated authorised person must not issue, re-issue or withdraw any official assurances for which they are to be designated, until their name is included on the Schedule (see clauses 25.2 and 25.3). This can be found on the NZFSA Animal Products website under “Lists/Registers”.

25.1.6 The designation of persons must become effective from the date of signing the “Instrument of Designation as an Authorised Person” and will expire when the person ceases to be employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; or when the designation is revoked by notice in writing; which ever occurs first.

25.2 Veterinary authorised persons designated to sign NZFSA export certificates

25.2.1 Under section 64 and 65 of the Animal Products Act 1999, those persons listed in the schedule “Veterinary authorised persons designated to sign NZFSA export certificates”, have been designated as authorised persons for the purposes of issuing, re-issuing and withdrawing the following official assurances approved for use under section 61 of the Animal Products Act 1999:

a. NZFSA export certificates excluding;

• live animals and

• cats and dogs to Australia and

• genetic material and

• fish.

b. Notwithstanding the live animal exclusion in 25.2.1 a, authorised persons listed in this clause may issue, re-issue and withdraw NZFSA export certificates for live animals to be used immediately for food.

25.3 Authorised persons designated to issue, re-issue and withdraw NZFSA fish export certificates.

25.3.1 Under section 64 and 65 of the Animal Products Act 1999, those persons listed in the schedule “Authorised persons designated to sign NZFSA fish export certificates”, have been designated as authorised persons for the purposes of issuing, re-issuing and withdrawing the following official assurances approved for use under section 61 of the Animal Products Act 1999:

a. NZFSA fish export certificates excluding:

• live animals and

• genetic material.

b. Notwithstanding the live animal exclusion in 25.3.1 a, authorised persons listed in this clause may issue, re-issue and withdraw NZFSA export certificates for live fish to be used immediately for food.

25.3.2 A veterinarian from this list must issue, re-issue or withdraw the certificate where this is required by the certificate template or OMAR.