Service Charter

What is a Service Charter?

A service charter sets out the standards of service clients can expect from an organisation, as well as ways to make a complaint if you are unhappy with the service. A service charter aims to ensure that organisations:

• focus on service delivery
• measure and assess performance
• initiate performance improvement.

This Charter describes the standards of service stakeholders can expect FSANZ to provide. We are committed to upholding these standards.

Our partners and stakeholders

Successful regulation depends largely on stakeholders' trust in the fairness and objectivity of the standard-setting agency. We attempt to earn and maintain this trust by adopting a transparent approach to our dealings with:

• the public, consumer organisations and the media
• Australian, state and territory governments and that of New Zealand
• primary producers and the manufacturing sector
• retail outlets and food services providers
• public health professionals
• international agencies and organisations
• our partners in the scientific community.

Our service standards

We comply with APS (Australian Public Service) values and extend these values to all contacts with stakeholders in the food regulatory process. In our dealings with partners and stakeholders, we will:

• be impartial, open and accountable
• use the best available science and evidence to guide our decision-making
• be mindful of our governing legislation when making decisions
• regard all individuals and organisations as legitimate stakeholders in the standard-setting process
• seek, respect and be responsive to the issues raised by others
• act with integrity, empathy, professionalism and mutual respect.

Our service delivery

FSANZ is committed to providing a level of service that meets or exceeds the expectations of stakeholders. We will:

• align our procedures and processes with best international standards of risk analysis and regulatory practice
• keep stakeholders fully informed about progress with applications and proposals to vary the Code through the FSANZ Work Plan and provide information about any delays with an assessment and subsequent changed timeframes in a timely manner
• complete applications within statutory timeframes
• identify and protect confidential information that has been provided to us
  
• ensure the currency and timeliness of information on our website
• acknowledge all correspondence or enquiries within five days and provide an expected response date (up to 4 weeks). Please note that complex enquiries can take longer to address.
• provide information and advice in plain English.

What to do if we do not meet your expectations

If you are dissatisfied with our performance please let us know. We take complaints seriously and welcome the opportunity to put things right.

We have offices in Canberra and Wellington. You can contact staff in these offices (see the contact details below). You can also make an appointment to visit the office.

We recommend that you first discuss complaints with the staff member you have been dealing with. If you are not satisfied with the response, ask to talk to the staff member's manager.

Should the matter still not be resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact the Complaints Manager by phone or email at one of the FSANZ offices listed below. You will be directed to the appropriate person, who will help you prepare a written complaint, which will be rigorously investigated. Complaints will be monitored and reported in the Annual Report.

More information is available on our Feedback and complaints page.

Other views and feedback

We attempt to provide as much information as possible on food standards and related matters on our website at www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz . You may, however, want information that is not provided or an opportunity to give us your perspective on a particular food issue. Your views and feedback are important to us.

Contact us

If you don't know who to contact in FSANZ, please use one of the following contact points to reach us: