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Using a NZFSA Web Application terms & conditions

These terms and conditions explain:

Important information on the use of a NZFSA web application, password security and cancellation of access;
Your rights, responsibilities and obligations once You are registered for using a NZFSA web application;
MAF’s rights, responsibilities and obligations as the provider of the NZFSA Web application;

These terms and conditions apply to all users.

Your use of any NZFSA Web application is to be in accordance with these terms and conditions, and use of The Application signifies both Your acknowledgement and acceptance of these terms and conditions. With this in mind, We ask You to please read them carefully before You use this service.

You must access The Application in the ways described in these terms and conditions and in any amendment notices issued by Us in the future.

Any notice may be given in one or more of the following ways:

Email to Your last known email address;
Mail to Your last known postal address;
By displaying information on The Application’s help site;
By displaying information on The Application’s Welcome page;
As part of your logging onto The Application.

MAF reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time.

We will provide You with a User ID and password to enable You to access The Application.

1. Access to a NZFSA Web Application

Access to a NZFSA Web Application is restricted to those Users registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of New Zealand and to whom a user identification has been issued. For most Users this is a personalised User ID which provides access. For Competent Authority officials – including any overseas, receiving country, official (A Competent Authority representative) and other countries with read-only access, a generic User ID for use by any official may be provided.

Access to an Application is via a User ID and password that is provided at the sole discretion of MAF.

Access to an Application is provided so that You can use The Application for the purpose for which it was designed. The purpose of each Application is outlined below. This purpose may include any other use, not inconsistent with that purpose, to support the achieving of NZFSA or MAF outcomes. These outcomes are determined by Us from time to time and are not inconsistent with the purpose of MAF or NZFSA.

Access to an Application can be terminated by Us at any time. Reasons for termination may include, but not be limited to:

Any breach of these Terms and Conditions
We learn of Your death, bankruptcy or lack of legal capacity, or that You have committed an act of bankruptcy, or that a bankruptcy petition has been presented against You;
Non-payment of an invoice for MAF or NZFSA services;
You have acted fraudulently;
Any other grounds We consider reasonable.

If Your access is to be terminated We will endeavour to notify You in advance unless We believe the circumstances do not warrant Us giving you such notice.

2. Your User ID and password

You are granted a license to access a NZFSA Web Application in accordance with the scope of the user identification provided by MAF. Upon the provision of access the User may make use of the data, forms and templates contained in that application.

Personalised User ID

For those people with a User ID which is personalised to them:

You may change Your password at any time. This option is available through the Application.
You are required to change this password as part of Your first logon to the Application.

The password You choose must be a minimum of 8 characters and must include at least 1 letter and 1 number. It may also include punctuation characters and spaces. This will be Your own confidential password to access an Application and You must choose a password that is unique and not used for other services You may use.

MAF can change or terminate Your User ID(s) and/or password(s) at any time for any reason. Depending on the reason that We decide to terminate Your User ID(s) and password, We may issue you with new User ID or password.

Where You have been issued with a personalised User ID, You must not:

Disclose Your password to anyone else, including work colleagues or family;
Write it down, nor keep it in a file on Your computer, including any password saving facility;
Create or use a password that relates to any known personal information about Yourself eg. Family, street or pet names, Your birthday, or include obvious or sequential numbers such as 54321, or repeating numbers such as 22222.
Leave Your computer unattended and left logged into an Application unless You have a password protected screen saver enabled and other people do not have access to that password.

The security of Your User ID and password is Your responsibility. To the extent permitted by law, MAF will not be held responsible for any claim or loss that results directly or indirectly, from any unauthorised use or misuse of Your User ID and/or password, unless the loss was the direct result of a MAF employee's fraudulent act or omission. You must compensate MAF for any loss suffered by MAF from any wrongful use or misuse of Your User ID or password.

Anyone using Your User ID and password will be able to access Your user account, whether or not they are authorised by You to do so. MAF will have no obligation, or take any steps, to verify any instruction received from Your User ID or appearing to be sent by You via an Application.

If for any reason You believe that another person knows Your password, or if You discover any unauthorised use of Your User ID and/or password has taken place, You must change it immediately and notify Your Application representative by e-mail or in writing.

Generic User ID

For those people with a generic User ID (eg Officials from Competent Authorities and EU Member states):

Changing Your password will deny access to any other people using that User ID
Please manage Your User ID and password in a way that ensures that only those people considered appropriate to be involved have access to the application

3. Using an Application

New Zealand User

An Application allows for inputting and administration of data through the use of Your User ID and Password. Any transactions You complete via an Application are subject to MAF’s terms and conditions, authorities, and any service charges applying to You at that time.

You are required to use an Application in a manner which is consistent with its core purpose and:

Producing the services as outlined in any MAF manuals, OMARS or other official documents published or notified from time to time applicable to the management and administration of the application, or data within that application, or the process applicable to that Application; or
Assisting with the transfer of data between approved agencies in the agricultural and Government sectors, not inconsistent with MAF’s core purpose.

All data, forms and templates provided in the Application are provided on an "as is" basis without any warranty of any kind, and MAF will not accept liability for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, losses or expenses howsoever arising and relating to the use, or lack of use, of the Application.

Where You are dissatisfied with any part of The Application or any of the conditions of use, and Your approaches through Your industry representative organisation to The Application’s manager have been unsuccessful, the sole remedy available is for You to discontinue use.

You will not use an Application for any unlawful or illegal purposes.

You will not use access to, or the contents of an Application to breach the legal rights or obligations of others.

You will not upload files that are known, or likely to contain computer viruses, corrupted files or similar software or programmes that may damage an Application or the operation of another computer or computer system.

You are under an obligation to maintain access to an Application and the data, forms and template for that Application as confidential. The Crown owns the intellectual property of the Application, including but not limited to forms, design, layout, templates and workflow, with this ownership vested in MAF. The Application forms, design, layout, templates, workflow and any other components (such as user administration and templates management), developed for The Application are subject to Copyright.

You undertake to advise Us immediately of any information or event that is liable to impact on the integrity of the Application, its system, another User, or New Zealand’s credibility.

Competent Authority User

You are required to use The Application in a manner which is consistent with its core purpose and international agreements.

You will not use an Application for any unlawful or illegal purposes.

You will not use access to, or the contents of an Application to breach the legal rights or obligations of others.

You undertake to advise Us immediately of any information or event that is liable to impact on the integrity of the Application, its system, another User, or New Zealand’s credibility.

4. Your Liability

You will be liable for all loss, including any loss suffered by third parties, if You act negligently or fraudulently, either alone or together with any other person.

You may be liable for some or all loss arising from any unauthorised use of The Application if You have caused or contributed to that loss by, for example, failing to comply with any of these terms and conditions.

5. MAF’s Liability

We will not be liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage resulting from Your use or inability to access an Application at any time, or any failure or delay in providing the service via the Internet.

The Application is made available to You on an "as is" basis. We will not be responsible for costs, losses or any other liabilities resulting from faults in, or a malfunction of, any equipment (including telecommunications equipment) which supports Our Application service, regardless of whether that equipment is ours or used by Us to provide these services.

We will be liable for any direct loss or damage that results from fraudulent conduct by MAF employees.

We are not responsible for any direct or indirect loss or damage that results from fraudulent or negligent conduct by Agents working on behalf of MAF. (such as AqriQuality New Zealand Limited)

We accept no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information entered into The Application by You.

We accept no responsibility or liability for any consequential impacts, if for example We are not advised of:

Change in e-mail address (e.g. if You do not receive an invoice and after reasonable unsuccessful efforts to contact You We suspend Your access for non-payment)
Change in users (e.g. if a person leaves Your company and continues to use an Application, but You have not advised Us of the person’s changed status)

6. Service Levels

In addition to the terms and conditions set out above the following Service Levels apply in relation to an Application:

1. We will endeavour to provide a secure system with which You can carry out Your Application transactions so long as Your Web browser supports 128 bit encryption.

2. We will use reasonable care and skill to provide access to each Application to meet its Availability requirement outlined below.

3. Scheduled downtime will be kept to a minimum and undertaken at a time of least impact so that it causes as little inconvenience as possible. Where significant downtime is scheduled which will affect You, at least 10 Business Days notice will be provided wherever possible.

4. For New Zealand Users We will provide the ability for You to request new user access to an Application, or create or maintain MAF controlled passwords, between 9.00am and 4.00pm Business Days.

5. For New Zealand Users We will setup new users and provide user passwords within 1 Business Day of the appropriate documentation being provided by You.

6. For Competent Authority Users We will provide the ability for You to request new user access to an Application, or create or maintain MAF controlled passwords within a reasonable time of Your request to Your Representative.

7. Use of Information

Your transactions and other information is recorded each time You use an Application. This information is held within a secure environment.

This information will only be used by Us for a lawful purpose, including management of the site and the maintenance of security. Any information used for statistical purposes will be consolidated so that individuals or companies are not identified.

We will not use any personal information that is provided by you other than for a purpose that is related to the operation of The Application or the system that supports the Application. You have the right to access and correct this information subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1993.

Information held by MAF is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1993.

Where a cost recovery for an Application is obtained from You, transaction information will be provided.

8. Equipment

You are responsible for using, having or obtaining a computer and software that is compatible with the use of the Application, including but not limited to, Web browser, pdf reader for reading documents or invoices and e-mail.

All costs or charges relating to setting up, maintaining that computer and Internet Service provider are Your responsibility.

9. Charges

Note: the charges for E-cert use, as detailed herein, do not apply to Competent Authority users granted access permissions by NZFSA.

Where cost recovery is undertaken for an Application:

1. You agree to pay by the due date any and all charges invoiced to You for Your use of The Application irrespective of whether the invoice is in dispute.

2. We will send an electronic invoice outlining Your chargeable activity, together with any relevant taxes, charges or duties levied by any government body, each month to the e-mail address nominated by You.

A charge may be incurred where You consistently forget Your password and MAF is required to reset Your password. Consistently would generally mean more than three times per year for a User ID.

10. Problems and Disputes

New Zealand Users:

Where You have a problem or dispute refer the issue in writing (via e-mail) to ecert-admin@nzfsa.govt.nz outlining:

Your name and applicable User ID(s);
Details of the problem or issue in dispute;
The business area affected (eg Animal Products, Dairy, Phytosanitary) or the Application you use;
The background and any relevant information related to the disputed issue;
Your preferred resolution

We will treat the matter the same as an Official Information Request. If the response cannot be completed within 20 Business Days, We'll contact You with details of the likely delay and the reason for that delay.

Competent Authority Users:

Where You have a problem or dispute refer the issue in writing (via e-mail to your Representative as outlined below outlining:

Your name and applicable User ID(s);
Details of the problem or issue in dispute;
The business area affected (eg Animal Products, Dairy, Phytosanitary) or the Application you use;
The background and any relevant information related to the disputed issue;
Your preferred resolution

We will expedite a resolution to the problem as quickly as practicable.

11. Cancellation

You are responsible for advising MAF in a timely manner when You need to change or cease access to an Application. Where You have a Company Co-ordinator they may do this on Your behalf.

New Zealand Users - You can suspend or cancel Your access to an Application by e-mailing Us at ecert-admin@nzfsa.govt.nz or by contacting Your Company Co-ordinator. You will remain responsible for any activity made on Your account until Your User ID is suspended.

Competent Authority Users - You can suspend or cancel Your access to an Application by e-mailing your Representative. You will remain responsible for any activity made on Your account until Your User ID is suspended.

Once advised, MAF will promptly suspend the User ID access.

12. User Indemnity and Acknowledgement

You agree to indemnify and protect MAF against all loss, costs, or damage suffered by Us, Our customers or a third party, or for any claim or action brought against Us by a customer or third party which results either from Your misuse of an Application or failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised use of an Application.

You acknowledge that any infringement of Intellectual Property or copyright including any unauthorised reproduction by You of any information contained in an Application, or any part of it, may result in legal action being taken against You.

13. NZFSA Web Applications covered by These Terms and Conditions

Application	Primary Function/Use	Availability
Animal Products E-cert	Administration of export certificates and eligibility documents for the export supply chain for animal products	24 * 7
Dairy E-cert	Administration of export certificates for the export supply chain fro dairy products	24 * 7
Phyto E-cert	Administration of export certificates for the export supply chain for phytosanitary products	24 * 7
User Admin	Administration of users to NZFSA Web Applications	8 * 5
Residues	Recording of meat, seafood and other samples and their results	8 * 5
NMD	Recording of meat samples and their results	8 * 5

14. New Zealand Application Representatives

Application	Representative	Contact
Animal Products E-cert	Phil Ward Drasko Pavlovic	phil.ward@nzfsa.govt.nz drasko.pavlovic@nzfsa.govt.nz
Dairy E-cert	Antonia Aloe	antonia.aloe@nzfsa.govt.nz
Phyto E-cert	Peter Johnston	Peter.Johnston@maf.govt.nz

15. Definitions

Unless specifically stated otherwise, the following definitions apply to the use of the defined terms in these terms and conditions and anywhere else on E-cert;

8 * 5 – means the period from 9.00am to 4.00pm on Business Days New Zealand Time;

24 * 7 – means 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, less any agreed Downtime;

Account - the permissions associated with an individual User ID;

Application – an abbreviation for NZFSA Web Application;

Business Day - every day except Saturday, Sunday, national public holiday, regional public holiday, and MAF designated holiday;

Competent Authority – An organisation recognised by the World Trade Organisation as a Competent Authority for the purposes of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreements;

Company Coordinator – The individual chosen by a Company and agreed by MAF to represent the company for the administration of User IDs and their access to an Application;

Downtime – the period when an Application is unavailable;

MAF – Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, including the New Zealand Food Safety Authority;

NZFSA – the New Zealand Food Safety Authority a semi-autonomous business unit within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;

NZFSA Web Application – a Internet online database application used by MAF. The list of applicable applications is outlined in paragraph 13;

OMAR – Overseas Market Access Requirement. A document which outlines changes in requirements for any overseas market;

online – means use of a computer to connect You to The NZFSA Web Application via the Internet and carry out a range of transactions and activities;

password – a confidential password initially provided by MAF used to help prevent unauthorised access to and use of Your account(s). When used with Your Customer ID it gives access to E-cert;

Representative – the person who you would normally contact about issues of certification. For industry people this would include Your local NZFSA VA; for VA would be Your team leader; for a competent authority representative it would be Your New Zealand MAF/NZFSA contact;

User ID - the identification number issued to You by MAF. This number may be up to nine digits and enables Us to identify You and Your accounts when You access E-cert;

We, Us or Our – MAF;

You or Your – a user of The NZFSA Web Application and their employer or agent.

All information on this website is subject to a disclaimer.

Contact for enquiries

New Zealand Food Safety Authority
68-86 Jervois Quay
PO Box 2835
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND

Phone: +64 4 894 2500
Fax: +64 4 894 2501

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