The meat industry contributes $3.5bn to the Australian economy annually, exporting more than 65% of all of its products. In order to access both domestic and export markets, industry must meet the requirements of national and international safety standards, which promote high quality and consistent outcomes across the industry. The industry needs a skilled workforce who are capable of understanding and implementing these standards so that meat processing plants can pass external audits and reviews. This project involves updating training and assessment materials to incorporate the provisions of the new Australian Standard A4696 Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption.
Click across the tabs to view active and completed project stages. Consultation takes place at every stage of the project.
The Australian Standard A4696 Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption describes the standard of hygiene that all meat processing plants must meet and be audited against. It was updated in 2023 with changes to inspection procedures and dispositions. Processors in certain markets also have to meet the requirements of other Standards such as the the AMIC Industry Animal Welfare Standard for Livestock Processing Establishments Preparing Meat for Human Consumption, which was implemented in 2022. The level III and IV qualifications for meat safety which support the skills of workers ensuring compliance to relevant standards were reviewed in 2022 to bring them in line with current industry practices and quality assurance (QA) requirements.
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As a result, the training and assessment materials used to deliver the Certificates III and IV in Meat Safety Inspection require updating to reflect changes to the qualifications and relevant National Standards. Consultation will take place throughout this project to update the training support materials available through MINTRAC, so they reflect the latest advances in technology and QA practices as described in the national standards and qualifications.
In the past, industry investment has meant registered training organisations (RTOs) have been able to purchase the training support materials for a nominal handling fee. This has ensured that customers, regulators and international reviewers have been able to have a degree of confidence in the training being delivered by RTOs Australia wide. Following this project, the support training materials will be made available to RTOs for free in a digital format to support high quality and nationally consistent delivery of these vital qualifications.
This Skills Insight JSC project is being managed with the support of MINTRAC as part of their collaborative partnership with Skills Insight. MINTRAC has a strong history working with the Australian meat processing industry on skills and training solutions and have been engaged by Skills Insight to deliver this project in partnership.
Project Team
Kate Webster
Project Manager, MINTRAC
[email protected]
Clive Richardson
Subject matter expert consultant
Project Scope and Purpose
This project will update the existing training and assessment materials used to deliver the level III and IV qualifications relating to safety and quality assurance, taking the following into consideration:
MINTRAC has already developed professional development materials for RTOs and existing meat inspection staff that will enable them to understand the changes made to the Australian Standard and the science underpinning these changes. These resources are available through the MINTRAC website.
Timeline
Stage 1
November 2023 – April 2024
The scope of work will be developed along with a detailed project plan. A Subject Matter Expert Working Group (SMEWG) will be established. The SMEWG will review the existing materials to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement and ensure that any training package changes are reflected in the materials. SMEWG meetings will be conducted as required.
Stage 2
May 2024
First draft materials available on the website for broad stakeholder feedback.
Stage 3
July 2024
The revised training and assessment materials will be freely available on both MINTRAC and Skills Insight’s websites.
Opportunities for stakeholder input
Stakeholder input is appreciated throughout the duration of this project. The documents will be drafted in consultation with the SMEWG. Opportunities to provide targeted feedback will occur when the first draft materials are made available in May. However, your feedback is welcomed at any time.
A list of key stakeholder organisations has been created for this project, which Skills Insight and MINTRAC will contact to seek involvement and views on the draft training resources and assessment materials. Consultation is not limited to the organisations on this list. This list simply helps us to identify those organisations that, because of their industry role, size or specialty, are likely to have a key interest in the development and outcomes of this project. If you are aware of an organisation that you think should be involved, please contact the project team.
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The Certificates III and IV in Meat Safety Inspection support the skills of people working as meat inspectors or meat safety officers. As part of this project, work is underway to review the existing training and assessment materials used to deliver these qualifications to incorporate the provisions of the new Australian Standard A4696 Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption and the revised version of the AMIC Industry Animal Welfare Standard.
The draft training and assessment materials are being developed in consultation with a Subject Matter Expert Working Group (SMEWG) and will be made available for broad consultation in May 2024.
The Certificates III and IV in Meat Safety Inspection were updated in 2022 to reflect current industry practices and quality assurance (QA) requirements. This involved a change in the core units of competency listed within the qualification, so training and assessment materials are being drafted to support the delivery of each of these core units. The project team are also reviewing the training support materials for the post and ante mortem units to reflect the changes in the Australian Standard A4696.
Subscribe for updates
If you would like to receive updates about this project, please subscribe to our newsletter and select ‘meat processing’ as one of your industries of interest.
Following the completion of this project, the training support materials will be made available to RTOs for free in a digital format to support high quality and nationally consistent delivery of the qualifications.
Note: MINTRAC has developed professional development materials for RTOs and existing meat inspection staff that will enable them to understand the changes made to the Australian Standard A4696 and the science underpinning these changes. These resources are available through the MINTRAC website.
This stage has not yet commenced.
At the broad consultation stage, we present and discuss potential solutions, collecting feedback from a wide range of stakeholder across the country. It follows consultation with various stakeholders that has already taken place throughout the project.
This stage has not yet commenced.
As part of consensus gathering, we check our work with stakeholders to confirm that solutions are in line with expectations.
This stage has not yet commenced.
At the finalisation stage, final checks are conducted and outcomes are published.
This Skills Insight JSC project is being managed with the support of MINTRAC as part of their collaborative partnership with Skills Insight. MINTRAC has a strong history working with the Australian meat processing industry on skills and training solutions and have been engaged by Skills Insight to deliver this project in partnership.
