Technical Officer

APS 5 - $78,548 - $86,168 per annum plus superannuation
- Exports & Veterinary Services Division
- Adelaide (SA), Brisbane (QLD), Canberra (ACT), Melbourne (VIC) or Sydney (NSW)

**Who we are**
The Residues and Food Branch is responsible for policy development, implementation and regulation of dairy, fish and egg exporters, and non-prescribed food, organics and animal by-products exporters. This includes the development of legislation, operational policy and guidelines, instructional material, technical training and its delivery, reporting and engagement of industry and government stakeholders. The branch is responsible for export documentation, including registration and licensing of export establishments and meat exporters, the National Residue Survey which conducts animal and plant residue testing for participating industries and the Quota administration unit which manages 33 tariff quota arrangements for products exported to the European Union, United States of America and Japan.

The Imported Food Section administers the
_Imported Food Control Act 1992_ which supports the inspection and testing of imported food to verify its safety and compliance with Australia’s food standards. The section is responsible for verifying food safety risks have been managed through the at-border, risk-based Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS). The section also responds to, and supports, Australian action on food safety incidents associated with imported food. The section provides technical and administrative support to officers responsible for assessing and processing electronic entries of food consignments and conducting inspections of food imported into Australia. The section also liaises with food importers, peak industry groups, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), state/territory food regulators, laboratories and trading partners.

**The Jobs**
The Imported Food Section is looking to fill two current vacancies in the
**Incident Response and Stakeholder Engagement Team** and the
**Business Systems Support Team**.

Incident Response and Stakeholder Engagement Team

The duties of the role include, but are not limited to:

- assisting with the management of the Food Incidents inbox
- assisting with monitoring national and international food incidents and supporting the team response to food safety incidents where the implicated food was imported into Australia
- providing secretariat support for the Imported Food Consultative Committee and assisting with the coordination of consultative committee meetings, including agenda preparation and minute taking
- assisting with website maintenance, including publishing website content
- assisting with the development, review and publishing of food information products
- assisting with the development and review of instructional material
- undertaking projects and conducting research and reviews, as required, on aspects of imported food policy and operations
- liaising with a broad range of departmental, industry and other external stakeholders.

Business Systems Support Team

The duties of the role include, but are not limited to:

- providing technical support to assessment and inspection staff using the Agricultural Import Management System (AIMS) for imported food
- assisting with section reporting, including using Power BI to develop reports and analyse data
- assisting in developing and reviewing instructional material for assessment, inspection and post inspection IT system activities for the Imported Food Inspection Scheme
- assisting with processing failing food
- assisting with the coordination of consultative committee meetings, including agenda preparation and minute taking
- assisting with the management of profiles for targeting imported food, investigating referral issues and assisting with the design of electronic profiles
- undertaking projects and conducting research and reviews as required on aspects of imported food policy and operations, including the ‘Inclusion of Imported Food in BICON’ project
- liaising with a broad range of departmental, industry and other external stakeholders.

**Please note** that these two current vacancies may be performed from any of the locations listed on the job description. The merit pool established through this selection process, which is valid for a period of eighteen months from the date the vacancy was advertised in the Public Service Gazette, may also be used to fill future ongoing vacancies in the branch where the duties are of a similar nature.

**What we are looking for**

**Knowledge and experience**
The following are highly desirable but not essential for both roles:

- An understanding of Australia’s food regulatory system.
- An understanding of the _Imported Food Control Act 1992_ and operation of the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.
- Experience providing administrative support to stakeholder meetings.

Business Systems Support Team

In addition to the above, for this role it is highly desira