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Agriculture makes a significant contribution to the economy (...) Support to the sector is limited, as Australia does not provide market price support. Current programmes target risk management, environmental conservation, and the provision of general services.

Table 3.7 Imports subject to prohibition or non-automatic licensing, 2019
Item: Toothfish
Justification: Protected under international instrument through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, to protect against illegal poaching
Measure: Permit may be granted by an authorized officer from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.

Table A3.1 Non-agricultural subsidies notified to the WTO, 2016/17 and 2018/19
(AUD)
SUB-FEDERAL PROGRAMMES
New South Wales
NSW Forest Industries Innovation Fund: (...)
Queensland
Vessel Tracking Rebate Scheme: (...)
Business Energy Savers Program: (...)
Queensland Waste to Biofutures Fund: (...)
Biofutures Industry Development Fund: (...)
South Australia
South East Forestry Partnerships Program: (...)
South Australian River Murray Sustainability Program: (...)
Western Australia
Marine Stewardship Council Certification: (...)

Australia's export controls reflect a number of factors, notably international commitments it undertook regarding the (...) the protection of endangered animals and plants (Table 3.11).

According to the OECD, total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Australia's agriculture sector averaged 2% per year during 2006-15, which was well above the world average (1.5%) during that period. (...) However, productivity growth is increasingly being constrained by water availability, which may be exacerbated by climate change.

Australia remains a strong supporter of the plurilateral Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) negotiations (...)

Table 3.11 Exports subject to licensing or other restrictions, 2019
Item: Ozone depleting substances(ODSs)/synthetic greenhouse gases (SGGs)
Justification: International commitments
Measure: Exportation of certain ODSs and SGGs is prohibited unless a licence has been granted by an authorized person at the Department of the Environment and Energy, as a delegate of the responsible minister. The licence requirement does not apply in certain circumstances.

Other agencies that are involved in international trade policy and trade relations include the Departments of Home Affairs; Agriculture and Water Resources; Industry, Innovation and Science; Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development; the Environment and Energy; Communications and the Arts; Health; and the Treasury.

The Biosecurity Act, 2015 and the Biosecurity Regulation, 2016 mandate the Department of Agriculture to review existing trade and to undertake risk analysis in response to requests to import goods that have never been imported into Australia, or have not previously been imported from a particular country or region. The risk analysis may be conducted through a regulated process provided for in the legislation (Biosecurity Import Risk Analysis – BIRA) or through a non-regulated procedure (e.g. a scientific review of existing policy and import conditions, a pest-specific assessment, a weed risk assessment, or a biological control agent assessment). If the identified biosecurity risks exceed the appropriate level of protection (ALOP) for Australia, goods may not be imported unless the proposed risk management measures reduce the risks to an acceptable level. Australia's risk assessment method has been used since 2001, and includes a risk estimation matrix that follows international principles consistent with World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and International Plant Protection Convention risk management standards. Australia's ALOP is only considered achieved when the estimated risk is at or below "very low".

Australia is a party to numerous regional and bilateral treaties, conventions and agreements for the establishment of joint bodies, for the sustainable management of shared fish resources, and for the combat of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. These include the establishment of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America (1988), and the Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region. Australia also concluded two Memoranda of Understanding, one with Indonesia regarding the operations of Indonesian traditional fishermen in the AFZ and the continental shelf, and the other with New Zealand regarding the conservation and management of orange roughy on the South Tasman Rise.