The Export Wheat Commission (EWC) was a statutory authority of the Australian government. The EWC was established on 1 October 2007 and superseded the Wheat Export Authority (WEA). The EWC was a statutory commission operating under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
The EWC's role was determined by the Wheat Marketing Act 1989 (the Act) and its operations were funded from three sources:
1. Wheat Export ChargeIn June 2003, the Wheat Marketing Act 1989 was amended to make provision for theintroduction of a Wheat Export Charge (WEC) on all Australian wheat exports. The WECcame into effect by regulation on 1 October 2003 and was set at 22 cents per tonne. Itremained at that level during the reporting period.Income provided by the WEC for the EWC in 2007–08 was AUD1,191 million(representing 33% of total funding requirements) compared with AUD2.208 million(61%) in 2006–07, and AUD3.321 million (97%) in 2005–06.The Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000, made under the PrimaryIndustries (Customs) Charges Act 1999, provided for the collection of the WEC. TheWEC was collected by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's Levy andRevenue Service which charged the EWC for the administration of its collection anddisbursement and exporter payment compliance. This service cost AUD1,660 per monthin 2007–08, compared with AUD1,830 per month in 2006–07 and AUD2,080 in 2005–06.
2. Export Application FeeIn August 2003, an amendment to the Wheat Marketing Regulations 1990 established aAUD50 fee on all export consent applications. This made up a minor proportion of EWCincome. During 2007–08 export application fees amounted to AUD950, compared toAUD15,000 in both 2006–07 and 2005–06.
3. Additional FundingAs income through the WEC was significantly reduced due to the drought and reduced wheatexports in 2006–07, the Government provided a grant of AUD2 million in September 2007to allow the agency to continue operating until 31 March 2008. This grant covered ongoingoperational costs and the transition from the former Wheat Export Authority to the EWC.The EWC's financial position was transferred to Wheat Exports Australia on 1 July 2008under the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008.
The EWC facilitated the operations of Australia's legislated wheat export arrangements and informed Government and growers of outcomes.
The EWC:
The EWC assumed responsibility for the role of the former Wheat Export Authority to monitor and report on Australia's single desk wheat export arrangements, under which AWB (International) Ltd (AWB(I)) was given a near monopoly on exporting wheat, in particular bulk exports. The 2007/08 National Pool was the last one to be managed by AWBI.
The Export Wheat Commission (EWC) was established as an Australian Governmentstatutory authority on 1 October 2007, under the Wheat Marketing Act 1989 (the Act)after legislative changes in June 2007. This Overview is based on the EWC's CorporatePlan 2007–08 and the Portfolio Budget Statement 2008–09.
The EWC vision was for a sustainable, innovative and internationally competitivewheat export sector that continued to provide optimal returns for growers and developAustralia's broader interests.
The EWC facilitated the operations of Australia's legislated wheat export arrangementsand informed Government and growers of outcomes.
The EWC was an Australian Government agency within the Agriculture, Fisheries andForestry portfolio. It operated under the Financial Management and AccountabilityAct 1997 and was required to meet related financial management and reportingrequirements. EWC staff were employed under the Public Service Act 1999.The EWC comprised a Chairman and four other Commissioners, appointed for aperiod of up to three years by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. TheCommissioners were supported by a Secretariat which comprised up to 16 full-time staffheaded by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).The Commissioners were responsible for fulfilling the statutory requirements of theEWC. The Secretariat assisted the Commissioners in meeting their obligations. TheCommissioners carried out major decision-making functions and provided guidance tothe Acting CEO who had delegated authority to undertake many of the functions andresponsibilities of the EWC. Day-to-day control over core areas of EWC activity restedwith a small executive team who worked closely with Secretariat staff.
Under the Act the EWC had three functions:
In delivering those functions the EWC:
Under the Act, the EWC was required to provide the Minister with a report on itsmonitoring of AWBI's export performance and the impact on growers. Known asthe Performance Monitoring Report (PMR), it contained considerable commercial-inconfidenceinformation. With the late closing of the 2005/06 National Pool, the EWCproduced a 2007 PMR Addendum report to the Minister.
The EWC was also required to notify the Minister of significant wheat export relatedevents and to keep the Minister informed on the EWC's operations.The EWC also provided the Minister with a Corporate Plan and an Annual OperationalPlan (AOP) during the year. The EWC presented the Annual Report 2006–07 forthe former Wheat Export Authority to the Minister who tabled it in Parliament on13 May 2008.
Under the Act, the Minister held the power of veto over bulk wheat exports until30 June 2008. The EWC processed applications to export wheat in bulk in line with thepublished Export Consent Guidelines and referred these to the Minister for decision.
The EWC reported to growers on the non commercial-in-confidence findings of thePMR activity through the Growers Report. The Growers Report was published on theEWC website and mailed to more than 25,000 growers. In addition, with the late closingof the 2005/06 National Pool, the EWC published the Growers Report 2007 Addendum which was similarly distributed to growers.
Beyond meeting its legislated requirements to the Minister and growers, the EWCwas also committed to delivering and communicating results to other stakeholders inAustralia's wheat export arrangements. The EWC's key stakeholders were:
Other stakeholders included:
Association (GGA)
Association (AGEA)
By 30 June 2008 the EWC had accredited:
By 30 June 2008, the EWC had received 4,094 notification forms for the exportof 1,929,293 tonnes to 41 countries.
The EWC's performance also included the following results:
The November 2007 Federal election resulted in a change of Government and reformof Australia's wheat marketing arrangements towards the liberalisation of exports in bulk.This reform included the release of draft legislation and a Senate Committee Inquiryinto the Wheat Export Marketing Bill 2008 and the Wheat Export Marketing (Repealand Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008. The related drafting of a new Wheat ExportAccreditation Scheme for bulk exports, became a major focus for the EWC and theindustry during the reporting period.
The EWC monitored and reported on AWBI's export performance in managing theNational Pool and presented the Minister with two Performance Monitoring Reports(PMRs) and published two Growers Reports.
This was a significant result as the Act only required the EWC to produce one performancemonitoring report to the Minister and one related report to growers during the year.
On 5 March 2008, the Minister released an exposure draft of the Wheat ExportMarketing Bill 2008. The EWC was required to undertake considerable preliminary workon new governance and other arrangements in the lead-up to the establishment of thenew body, Wheat Exports Australia.
The changes presented new challenges for the EWC, including a requirement to draft alegislative instrument to create an accreditation scheme for bulk exporters.The EWC consulted widely with industry in formulating the Wheat Export AccreditationScheme (Bulk-Scheme), undertaking preliminary consultations in March and then releasingan exposure draft of the Scheme in June.
In June 2008, the Government passed legislation in Parliament that reformed the exportof wheat in bulk, ending the wheat export monopoly arrangement held by AWBI sinceprivatisation of the Australian Wheat Board in 1999.
The EWC significantly improved its performance in all areas of its ongoing businesswhile successfully meeting the new demands of the legislative changes and withoutundue disruption to the export wheat industry.
The EWC continued to refine its business processes in itskey functional areas of bulk export consents, administration the Non-bulk Wheat QualityAssurance Scheme (Non-bulk Scheme) and the performance monitoring of AWBI.At the direction of the Minister, the EWC also completed three Ministerial investigationsduring the reporting period.
During 2007–08, the EWC received and assessed a total of 54 applications for bulkexports, consulting with AWBI and providing detailed comments and recommendationsto the Minister. The Minister approved six applications for 950,000 tonnes in five markets.The EWC ensured that its consent compliance requirements for bulk wheat exportswere met by exporters.
Following the liberalisation of wheat exports in containers and bags on 27 August 2007,the EWC administered the Non-bulk Scheme and during the reporting period, accredited62 packers with 103 sites, 12 laboratories with 31 sites and six superintendencecompanies with 18 sites.
The EWC also processed and checked more than 4,000 packer notifications of exports inbags and containers and ensured they complied with the Non-bulk Scheme.
The EWC liaised with industry and grower organisations in relation to the Non-bulkScheme during the year and introduced a new online notification form to increaseefficiency for users as well as the EWC.
The EWC also continued to liaise with the Australian Customs Service and non-AWBIexporters on compliance with non-bulk export consents given by the former WheatExport Authority prior to deregulation.
During the previous reporting period, 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007, theMinister had directed the former Wheat Export Authority to conduct one investigationunder section 5DC of the Act. The EWC presented two interim reports and thendelivered its final report on the investigation to the Minister on 14 December 2007.During the reporting period the Minister gave the EWC directions to undertake twofurther investigations (see page 59). While these placed additional requirements on theSecretariat, I am pleased to advise that these were concluded in an efficient and timelymanner. The EWC presented its findings to the Minister in two confidential reports.
Due to the late closure of the 2005/06 National Pool, the EWC produced two reports onthe performance of AWBI instead of the required one.The EWC delivered the 2007 PMR to the Minister in December 2007, in accordance withits requirements under the Act. This 177-page report was adapted into a 28-page reportto growers, with the commercial-in-confidence elements removed.The EWC subsequently produced a 108-page commercial-in-confidence Addendum tothe PMR and then published a 20-page Addendum to the Growers Report 2007 during2007–08 to inform the Minister and growers on the performance of AWBI and a numberof other topical wheat industry issues.
Drought had a major impact on growers and exporters during the 2007/08 harvest whichyielded 13.04 million tonnes, although this was 2.23 million tonnes above the 2006/07 harvest.
The EWC statistics showed that approximately 5.4 million tonnes of wheat wereexported during 2007/08. Western Australia and South Australia were the major wheatexporting States.
On 1 July 2008, following the passage of legislative change, the EWC was replaced by Wheat Exports Australia.