Susannah Tymms

Between 2015-23 Susannah has been employed at Dairy Australia, most recently as Manager Policy Strategy and the Dairy Moving Foward RD&E Initiative. See Linkedin profile.

Manager Gene Technology Policy, Dairy Australia, Feb 2017 – August 2017.

Responsible for Dairy Australia‘s biotechnology policy agenda during Australian Government legislative review and reform period.

Manager Regulatory Affairs, Dairy Australia, Dec 2015 – Dec 2016.

Responsible for Dairy Australia’s regulatory affairs program throughout 2016.

Gene Technology in Australia: a situational analysis, May-June 2015.

Australia’s Gene Technology Regulator administers the national regulatory system for gene technology. This project is a situational analysis of the operating environment in Australia for dealings with ‘genetically modified organisms’, including emerging issues that may impact on the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator over the next five years. It overviews and characterises the Australian biotech sector, provides an extensive scan of the R&D pipeline as it relates to gene technology, reviews the regulatory systems of three peer nations and discusses drivers and barriers to sector function going forward.

Development of a regulatory map and forward-planning advice for Dairy Australia, February-April 2015.

Dairy Australia is the national services body for the dairy industry. This project is an environmental scan and planning exercise for the regulatory affairs division.

Board-in-confidence Issues Paper for Dairy Food Safety Victoria, August-December 2014.

Dairy Food Safety Victoria is the independent regulator of Victoria’s dairy industry, licensing dairy farmers, manufacturers, carriers and distributors. This project was an in-confidence Issues Paper developed for the Board.

Strategic governance review for the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries, February-April 2014.

 Analytic desktop governance review of two statutory authorities.

Board-in-confidence regulatory review for Dairy Food Safety Victoria, August-November 2013.

This project was a strategic in-confidence briefing paper to the Board of Victoria’s dairy industry regulator.

Internal government review of export notifications during national food recalls, March 2013.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand coordinates national food recalls. Commissioned in the weeks following the recall of perishable dairy products linked to human illness, this project reviewed internal Australian Government processes and procedures for notifying export markets and international bodies during a national food recall.

Dairy industry advice on ‘agvet’ chemical reform, September 2012.

The Council of Australian Governments is to consider a proposed national system for regulating agricultural and veterinary chemicals towards the end of this year. This project provided an analysis of key outstanding issues in the current proposal that affect the Australian dairy industry.

Dairy industry submission: review of Cost Recovery Guidelines, August 2012.

The Australian Government Department of Finance and Deregulation’s review of the 2005 Cost Recovery Guidelines was announced in August 2012. The Australian dairy industry regularly uses Government services for which fees and levies are charged. This paper drafted advice and content for the dairy industry submission.

Chief Executive Instructions, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, June 2012.

This small project involved improving the readability of a selection of Chief Executive Instructions and staff policies to help staff members understand and comply with the workplace requirements of the independent statutory agency responsible for the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Review of the Australian food industry’s self-regulatory ‘Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative’ and the ‘Australian Quick Service Industry Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children’, March-June 2012.

This in-depth report, commissioned by the Australian Food and Grocery Council, was the first formal review of the two industry self-regulatory codes seeking to moderate children’s exposure to advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt. The review analysed and critiqued the design and implementation of the codes following their introduction in 2009 and provided recommendations for their future enhancement to ensure the instruments continue to represent world’s best practice in self-regualtion of advertising.

Dairy industry submission: chemicals of national security concern, March 2012.

The Australian Government’s Consultation Regulation Impact Statement on precursor chemicals to homemade explosives was released for public comment in March 2012. The Australian dairy industry is a regular user of two chemicals for which new control measures are proposed. This paper drafted advice and content for the Dairy Australia submission.

Verifying food safety: International review of government food safety measurement and performance reporting arrangements and implications and recommendations for the State of Victoria, Australia, February 2012.

Reporting encourages accountability and enables regulation to be improved over time. In Australia, where food safety risk assessment and standard-setting are undertaken at the national level, jurisdictional reporting against national objectives is the topic of intense discussion among regulators. Commissioned by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, this paper firstly reviewed the status of government food safety performance reporting arrangements in the US, Canada and three European countries and then proposed a pathway for developing a best practice performance reporting system for food safety regulators in the State of Victoria.

A snapshot of the 2008/09 survey of the Victorian organic sector by the University of New England, September 2011.

Commissioned by the Victorian Department of Business and Innovation, this paper critically reviewed and provided a synopsis of a study conducted to collate Victorian organic agriculture industry statistics with a view to providing Victorian organic industry participants with data that may assist industry-wide strategic planning and development. Robust data is critical for understanding Victoria’s contribution to the national organic sector and for developing achievable goals, particularly those relating to industry growth.

On farm food safety arrangements for fresh horticultural produce in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, June 2011.

This paper described arrangements in place in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom for managing food safety in primary horticultural production. The paper described governance arrangements operating (or in development) in each country, including an overview of general food safety laws, inspection practices and farm registration requirements. The paper examined the various initiatives established by industry organisations in assisting primary horticultural producers to achieve compliance with general food safety rules and meet the expectations of retailer procurement requirements. The integration of public and private activities for achieving public health objectives was highlighted. Commissioned by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, it came at a time when Australia was considering its own food safety arrangements for fresh horticultural produce on-farm.

Design, format and impact of front-of-pack nutrition labelling: an independent review of refereed literature, May 2011.

Commissioned by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), this literature review set out to inform the Australian and international debate about the effectiveness of different front‐of-pack nutrition labelling schemes for modifying the behaviour of Australian consumers in making food choices. The project examined peer-reviewed literature published after 2004 analysing the impact of nutrition labels on consumer purchasing behaviour, with a particular focus on studies comparing the major label formats in current use in Australia—namely single nutrition icons, ‘traffic light’ labels and ‘Guideline Daily Amount/Daily Intake Guide’ formats. This independent review provided the AFGC with the evidence-base for developing its formal submission and response to the Australian Government Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy. This review is published online at:www.afgc.org.au/tools-guides-.html with an associated AFGC media release on 5 Dec 2011 at www.afgc.org.au/media-releases/1054-wrong-diagnosis-by-ama-on-traffic-lights.html

Review of the effectiveness of front-of-pack labelling, August 2010.

The role that on-pack nutrition information plays in actual food consumption is of on-going concern to food policy makers and nutritionists in Australia and around the world seeking to limit the burden of chronic diseases in the community. This literature review, commissioned by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI), explored and analysed peer-reviewed scientific data relating to front-of-pack nutrition labelling and its impacts on consumer purchasing behaviour and improved community nutrition. The report was utilised internally by DPI to assist with the development of the Victorian state position in the Australia-wide labelling debate.

Management of the Secretariat for the independent review of the moratorium on genetically modified canola in Victoria, Australia, 2007-2008

In 2004, the Victorian Minister for Agriculture declared a moratorium on the cultivation of genetically modified canola in that state until February 2008. In 2007, the Premier of Victoria announced a formal review to recommend whether the moratorium should be allowed to expire or be extended. This project was highly contentious and politically sensitive. The role included distilling and articulating the complex issues associated with the economic impacts of the ban, managing extensive stakeholder engagement and preparing the submission to the Victorian Cabinet in relation to the review report. The recommendations made in the report were tabled in the Victorian Parliament by the Minister for Agriculture and accepted in full by the Victorian Government, despite the controversial nature of the reform. The report is available online at: http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/science-and-research/biotechnology/genetically‐modified‐crops/moratorium/review/panel‐report‐to-the‐minister‐for-agriculture‐2007

Other projects

• Key drafter of the Victorian Government 2008 ‘Future Farming Strategy’, involving the co-ordination of input from a wide range of technical experts including climate change, natural resource management, water, agricultural marketing, economic and transport policy specialists.
• ‘Role of government’ analysis of plant breeding policies and principles for investment by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI), resulting in subsequent changes to investment strategy and plant R&D commercialization policies within DPI from 2004.
• Responsibility for briefing the Victorian Premier in 2004-2005 on agriculture and forestry, including the establishment of the VicForests auction system and negotiations with the private forestry sector for access to old-growth forests.
• State government representation on the board of a statutory authority responsible for delivering strategic R&D investment in the wine grape industry in 2002-2004.
• State government representative on the 2002 Australian Delegation to the FAO UN negotiations of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
• Legislative review, reform and repeal in 2001 of the monopoly marketing arrangements for barley in Victoria, responding to the Australian Government National Competition Policy agenda.