TQA Australia has a proven track record in responding quickly to client requirements and working through to practical solutions. TQA Australia can assist your business with developing, implementing and managing your quality assurance, food safety and environmental management systems.

We pride ourselves on developing practical solutions to meeting the stringent requirements of international standards such as BRC, HACCP, GlobalGAP and SQF, as well as domestic standards such as Freshcare, WQA and Coles requirements.

TQA Australia has experience developing training programs in a range of disciplines including environmental management, HACCP and food safety. We are able to deliver training directly to primary producers, farm and factory staff, or build the capacity of managers and industry development staff so that they can train others.

history

TQA Australia is a not-for-profit, incorporated association formed in 1997 as a joint industry and state government initiative.

The principal aim of the association was to promote the uptake and understanding of food safety and quality assurance systems within primary industry, and was initially funded by the Tasmanian State Government.

As government financial support decreased, TQA Australia expanded its range of services from free advice to include food safety training and quality assurance system development. The transition to fully self-funding, while not without significant challenges, has been successfully achieved and the organisation has grown from one full time employee to a dynamic team active across Australia.

In order to reflect the varying and increasingly international role of the organisation, our name was changed from Tasmanian Quality Assured Inc to TQA Australia. TQA Australia has continued to expand its range of services from food safety and quality assurance to include environmental assurance, driven by the growing list of assurances and management systems needed to access domestic and international markets.

TQA Australia has been actively involved in many state and national working groups and committees across a broad cross section of businesses and government agencies.

Our national food safety, quality and environmental assurance conferences (titled “Keep It Real”) have provided the opportunity to reach a large and diverse group of people and businesses, from primary producers to government bodies, industry leaders, retailers, system owners, certification bodies and auditors. The most recent event in 2009 was a hands-on conference covering critical issues such as the Environmental Assurance Recognition Framework for Horticulture and Carbon footprinting.

We have assisted approximately 85% of Tasmania’s vegetable industry to meet the quality assurance requirements of customers. We are at the forefront of the environmental assurance debate in agriculture and have helped to shape government policy in this area. In addition to co-authoring the “Guidelines for Environmental Assurance for Australian Horticulture” and assisting in the development of a practical environmental certification system for Australian primary producers, TQA Australia is championing the environmental sustainability debate with all major Australian retailers and is working with retailers, agribusinesses and producers to develop a rigorous means of demonstrating environmental credentials to the consumer.