The Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance Program (APIQ) is industry sponsored. The program has been created with input from a wide range of industry stakeholders.

Australian Pork Limited is the nominated steward for the program on behalf of the industry.

AUS-MEAT audits quality assured producers. On-farm compliance set in the Standards is verified through an independent audit system. This ensures the credibility of the APIQ quality assurance program. AUS-MEAT are the contracted third party auditing organisation who conduct independent third-party annual compliance audits of all certified producers.

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APIQ Management

APIQ Management is the team of support within APL. They handle the administration and support for the program.

They are governed by comprehensive Certification Policies (CP) and Administration Policies (AP). This team drafts new policies for approval.

APIQ Management is available to help stakeholders with APIQ accreditation queries and processes.

Contact the APIQ Management team if you have any questions or concerns on 1800 789 099 or email apiq@australianpork.com.au.

About the APIQ Panel

The APIQ Panel makes decisions about producer and auditor issues of non-compliance.

Producers, auditors and APIQ Management can seek consultation from the Panel when they have concerns. This can be about audit outcomes, certification, APIQ policies and other issues. Their role is to direct appeals, incident investigations and review processes.

The Panel’s decisions are final and independent of APIQ Management.

The Panel:

  • Reviews the Program, Standards and Policies and recommends improvements for industry consideration
  • Determines a course of action for incidences of misconduct, non-performance of duty or conflicts of interest
  • Rules on incidences that are outside the scope of APIQ Management.

The Panel consists of 5 or 6 specialists:

  • An intensive livestock veterinarian
  • An independent specialist auditor (preferably with an intensive farming background)
  • One or two independent producers (but not an APL producer elected Board Director)
  • A representative nominated by the APL Board, who serves as Chair
  • An individual from the supply chain (e.g. a customer representative).

Learn more about the APIQ panel members.

APIQ Policies

The program is governed by two categories of policy:

  1. APIQ Certification Policies approved through the APL Industry Integrity Committee and the APL Board
  2. APIQ Administrative Policies deal with the practical application of APIQ Certification Policy and are determined internally by APIQ Management in consultation with the CEO and in line with APL governance and procedural requirements

Policies are reviewed annually. Read more about APIQ certification policies.