The Department of Agriculture (DoA), previously known as the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and originally the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) approves commercial, private and government premises for the purposes of holding certain types of material subject to quarantine. To gain this approval, there are both containment and procedural requirements that must be met for microbiological, plant, animal, and invertebrate research facilities. Depending on the nature of the materials, QAPs may be required to comply with one of four from QAP Criteria 5.1 (QC1), materials of lowest risk to high risk Criteria 5.4 (QC4). If premises are classified by DoA as Criteria 5.1, there is no requirement for Third Party Assessment, although standards for good containment practice must be met.
The DoA requires that premises comply with the design and construction aspects of the Australian/New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 2982.1:1997 (Laboratory Design and Construction) and AS/NZS 2243.3:2002 (Safety in Laboratories).
To determine if premises have met these Standards, a DoA approved third party assessor must be engaged by the premises operator to undertake an assessment against the relevant standards.
Operators should note that the standards referenced above have been superceded by newer editions of these standards, both dated 2010, and that DoA are in the process of updating the current Criteria to reference the new editions. It is expected that the revised Criteria will be published in 2015.
The DoA requires that premises comply with the design and construction aspects of the Australian/New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 2982.1:1997 (Laboratory Design and Construction) and AS/NZS 2243.3:2002 (Safety in Laboratories).
To determine if premises have met these Standards, a DoA approved third party assessor must be engaged by the premises operator to undertake an assessment against the relevant standards.
Operators should note that the standards referenced above have been superceded by newer editions of these standards, both dated 2010, and that DoA are in the process of updating the current Criteria to reference the new editions. It is expected that the revised Criteria will be published in 2015.