The service you can expect from us

General principles and practices

In carrying out our work we will:

  • conduct all functions in accordance with Australian Public Service Values, Code of Conduct and Australian law
  • be honest, ethical and professional
  • be helpful and courteous and listen to what you tell us
  • use plain English
  • Where requested, we will cater for those who have difficulty with the English language, and make appropriate arrangements for the aged and those with disabilities
  • use open and transparent processes
  • respond promptly to messages and inquiries
  • provide information that is complete and accurate
  • give stakeholders an opportunity for direct input into the fisheries management decision making process
  • inform you about decisions that will affect you
  • ensure that you are able to discuss the decisions which affect you with someone who is able to understand and respond to your concerns, and
  • impartially apply relevant legislation, policy and guidelines.

NOTE: AFMA cannot provide legal or financial advice. If you have concerns about your individual legal or financial position, you should seek independent professional advice.

Service Delivery What you can expect from us
General correspondence and inquiries: We aim to give you a full response within 15 days of receipt in AFMA. Of course, the exact timing and content of our response will depend on each case and the complexity of the request.

If your inquiry is likely to take longer to deal with we will contact you within the 15 day time-frame to advise you of progress and the reasons for the delay.

In some cases, it may not be appropriate for us to fully respond to correspondence, or reasonable to expect us to do so. For example, correspondence about legal proceedings, commercial matters, surveillance, investigations and enforcement activities may involve sensitive and restricted matters that will restrict what we can say, or prevent us from replying at all.

We will include a date, contact name, telephone number, email address (where relevant) and file reference number (if applicable) in all correspondence we send to you.
Processing Commonwealth licensing and entitlements transactions: We will process routine applications for leases, transfers and other dealings affecting fishing concessions within seven days of receipt, subject to you supplying us with everything we need to complete the transaction and to clearance being obtained from other State licensing authorities, where relevant. Where applications are more complex, we will write to you within seven working days of receipt to confirm receipt of your application and advise an expected response date. We will maintain contact with you and continue to advise you of the status of your application, and

If all necessary aspects of an application including fees and charges, catch and logbook returns and applicable concessions are not fulfilled or supplied at the time of application, AFMA will attempt to contact you at least two times over a period of fifteen days to resolve any outstanding issues. After this time, if any issues are not resolved, AFMA will return the applicant to the client.

We will advise you of your rights of review and avenues for appeal, if applicable.
In collecting and disseminating catch, effort and other information through our Logbook Program: We will provide logbooks relating to existing logbook programs within seven days of receiving a request to do so.

Subject to privacy and confidentiality requirements, we will provide business owners or permit holders with compilations of the information that they have provided to us, within ten days of receiving a request to do so. This service will necessarily depend on the completeness of our records and data sources. If we are unable to respond to your request within that time, we will inform you as soon as possible.

We will provide compilations of logbook data, subject to confidentiality arrangements, within 45 days of receiving a request to do so. If we are unable to respond to your request within that time, we will inform you as soon as possible, and

We will protect the confidentiality of information recorded in logbooks and not disclose that information unless authorised or required to do so by law or in consultation with the information provider.
When providing professional Observer services to domestic and foreign fishing vessels operating within the AFZ and subject to arrangements for the nature of the observer’s functions being satisfactorily addressed beforehand: We will provide trained, competent observers for domestic vessels within ten days of a request to do so and within 21 days of requests for vessels in foreign ports.
We will ensure that our observers:

  • forward samples collected while at sea within three days of returning to port, and
  • provide reports about their activities and observations at sea within five weeks of returning to AFMA following completion of a cruise. This timeframe may be subject to change where observers have collected large amounts of data.