AFMA Business Efficiency Review

The Business Efficiency Review aims to achieve a long term lowering of AFMA’s cost structures. Importantly, we aim to build on the best features of AFMA’s partnership model for all stakeholders and give industry a greater role in running fisheries under a co-management approach.
  
Public consultation on the Business Efficiency Review Discussion Paper closed on 16 May 2008. We received 26 formal submissions from people with interests in Commonwealth fisheries.

The Cost Reduction Working Group presented its recommendations to the AFMA Board in June. The Board agreed to 24 actions and set timeframes for implementation that are consistent with the CRWG’s final recommendations. 

These actions will improve service delivery and performance through administrative and governance changes, savings and infrastructure investment. AFMA will centralise its domestic compliance function over the next 12 months, and is writing separately to the relevant state agencies to commence that process.

AFMA aims to amend unnecessary, complicated and cost-prohibitive legislative and management arrangements. AFMA will rationalise and improve Management Advisory Committee structures and processes. AFMA will pursue more cost-effective research strategies based on catch-cost-risk considerations. AFMA will continue to trial approaches to co-management in fisheries.

The main variations between the agreed actions and the draft recommendations in the March 2008 business efficiency review discussion paper are:

• In rationalising and improving Management Advisory Committee structures, an objective is to have no more than six MACs by July 2009
• Over the next six months, AFMA will consult and clearly define functions and operating standards for MACs, industry associations and AFMA within the new framework – including the composition of MACs
• There will be a transition to independent Resource Assessment Group chairs, but the current RAG structures will remain in place until the MACs are restructured.

In reducing the number of MACs, AFMA is determined to achieve a principle-based division of responsibilities between MACs, AFMA and industry, and the opportunity for input in MACs for all stakeholder sectors with interests in the fisheries.

The consultation on implementing the new MAC framework will be overseen by AFMA Commissioner, Mr Ian Cartwright. 

Over all, the aim of implementing the review is to cap costs attributed to industry to 2005-06 levels by 2009-10.  Implementation should cut costs attributed to industry by approximately $3 million by 2009-10 compared with 2007-08, and this will achieve the target. This will coincide with the end of levy relief provided by the Australian Government over 2006-2009 under its Securing our Fishing Future package.

Page last updated 11 August, 2008