New Zealand Food Safety Authority

When a New Zealand agricultural exporter sends an overseas consignment, chances are it is accompanied by an export certificate from either the NZ Food Safety Authority or MAF Biosecurity, issued by the Authority’s e-cert system.

Every year over 300,000 electronic certificates are issued, covering over $13.5 billion of agricultural exports including meat, dairy, seafood, horticulture and forestry with new agricultural sectors being incorporated into the system. The electronic certificate confirms that the assignment meets the importing country’s health and safety requirements. As such, the online e-cert system is ‘mission critical’ for New Zealand exporters, giving them the support they need to supply products to markets around the world which require government to government assurance.

E-cert is a world leader in export certification management. It is also entirely home-grown and has won a GOVIS award in 2001 for leading edge software. All New Zealand exporters can benefit from the e-cert system, with some 5,000 people currently accessing it online worldwide.

When NZFSA began planning e-cert six years ago, they outsourced the software development and support to Topaz. Working alongside NZFSA, Topaz created the software application as well as the data standards for entering information about consignments. These data standards are currently being promoted within the United Nations and the World Customs Organisation as the international standards for government to government agricultural certification and have received wide international acceptance. Topaz supports the system on a 24 x 7 basis and is working with business representatives to continually expand e-cert’s capabilities. Around 20 Topaz staff work on the NZFSA account from their offices in Lambton Quay, Wellington.

The imminent challenge for Topaz is to electronically interface the e-cert system with those of importing nations to provide a seamless international certification system with New Zealand’s core trading partners. When this occurs—and the other countries are up to speed with New Zealand—the entire certification system will be able to be completed online. The vision is such that where an economy has government to government authorization requirements, every New Zealand agricultural export consignment will carry a compatible electronic certificate.

E-cert is just one of many applications that Topaz has developed and supported for NZFSA and MAF Biosecurity since 1995. It assists both organizations in work that is crucial to the long-term viability of New Zealand’s future as an agricultural exporter. Because software development and support are fully outsourced under the contract, Topaz delivers a contestable service—providing NZFSA and MAF with greater cost transparency and flexibility.

Outsourcing also leaves the clients free to concentrate on their core business. With such a large and complex project as e-cert, there have been many challenges but after five years, NZFSA and Topaz have established a strong partnership.