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Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd REGULATIONS Revised 8th June 2004 I These regulations refer to Sci-Qual International's (SQI) system for Quality System, Environmental, Work Place Health and Safety, HACCP, Product Certification, Eurepgap and other Certification Services hereinafter called the Scheme. II. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires: "Applicant" means an individual, body corporate or body unincorporated which has applied for but has not yet been granted a Certificate. "Application Form" means the initial application relating to SQI's scheme for Quality System Certification. "Application Fee" means such sum as is determined by SQI from time to time which is submitted with the Application Form. "Appeal Committee" means a body of persons appointed by the Company for the purposes of hearing disputes as arbitrators in accordance with these regulations. "Certificate of Registration" means a certificate issued
by SQI recognising that the quality system operated by the Applicant
has been assessed by SQI , is in accordance with the requirements of
the Relevant Standards and the Applicant will be registered in SQI's
Register of Quality Assured Firms. "Company" means Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd (herein called SQI), A.C.N. 056 777 176, a company duly incorporated in the State of Queensland with its successors and assigns. "Confirmation to Proceed" means an agreement between SQI and the Applicant to proceed with all assessment activities leading to certification and forms part of the "Application Form". "Quality System" means the organisational structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes and resources for implementing quality management. "Relevant Standards" means any one of the standards for systems of quality published by Standards Australia or International Standards Organisation. "Symbol" means the symbol adopted by SQI and depicted on the Certificate of Registration. References to any statutory enactment shall mean and shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended and modified or re-enacted from time to time. The singular shall include the plural and vice versa. Words importing one gender shall include the others. III. Application by Applicant The Applicant shall complete and sign the Application Form/Confirmation to Proceed Agreement and submit to SQI. The Applicant shall pay the Application Fee as previously determined by SQI, at the time of delivery of the Application Form. IV. Consideration of Application Upon receipt of the Application Form, SQI shall consider the Application and shall forward the Applicant a response together with a confirmation of the quotation for total costs and a proposed timetable. V. SQI to make Enquiries For the purposes of considering the Confirmation to Proceed, SQI shall assess the procedures being conducted by the Applicant to determine whether they comply with the Relevant Standards. SQI shall assess the organisation structure, responsibilities, activities, resources and procedures of the Applicant to determine if the Relevant Standards are satisfied. VI. Applicant to Co-operate The Applicant shall make all premises related to the application available to SQI for the purposes of enabling SQI to assess the quality system. The Applicant shall answer all reasonable queries of SQI and provide all manuals, procedures, work instructions and records which are reasonably required by SQI in assessing the system. In addition the applicant provide access to the audit team records of communications from external interested parties to the Organisation. The applicant also must make their premises available for surveillance audits during the certification period as required by SQI, which may include unannounced audits for some programs. These audits will be charged at our prevailing rates at the time which are available on our web site www.sci-qual.com.au. VII. Determination of Certification Upon assessing the various system in accordance with the preceding provisions, SQI shall:- " grant registration of the Applicant following Board Review of the auditors recommendations ; or " refuse registration. If the registration is granted, SQI shall issue to the Applicant a Certificate of Registration at which time the Applicant will become a Certified Supplier. The effective date will be either the date of the Boards decision or the date the Certificate is originally issued. All Certificates of Registration shall be issued upon the following terms: " the Certified Supplier shall use the Certificate only in respect of the offering of goods or services which are the subject of the application and shown on the Schedule to the Certificate; " in particular a supplier with multiple sites and/or differing certification scopes shall establish and maintain procedures for notifying purchasers of any goods or services produced or provided outside of the registered certification scope; " the Certified Supplier shall not materially vary the system under which the Certificate of Registration is issued during the validity of that Certificate unless the Certified Supplier has given to SQI notice in writing of its intention to do so; " the Certified Supplier shall keep a record of all complaints and remedial actions relative to the products or services covered by the scope of registration and make available on request to SQI; " the Certified Supplier shall allow SQI access during normal working hours to the premises in which the work the subject of the Certificate of Registration is being carried out for the purposes of examining materials, processes, finished work, methods of test, records and systems for the purposes of establishing that the certification is still valid; " the Certified Supplier shall notify SQI not later than one month following a change to the quality system of any changes in procedures or other information relevant to the conditions under which the Certificate is held including customer complaints; " a Certificate of Registration is not transferable and shall expire at a time set by the particular program from time to time. In no instances will they extend beyond three (3) years from the date of issue with out a re-certification audit being conducted. For example all Food based certificates such as SQI HACCP, WQA, Eurepgap and SQF have a duration of one year. The only exception in the food area is HACCP combined with Quality certificates, which will be valid for a three year period (subject to any application for renewal being received by SQI from the Certified Supplier and satisfactory compliance to these regulations). " Certificates issued do not imply that the product or service included on the Schedule to the Certificate are approved by the Council of the Joint Accreditation System - Australia/New Zealand or either of those countries appropriate Government Ministers. Where a Certificate of Registration has been issued to Certified supplier then the Supplier shall be entitled to use SQIs Symbol or name subject to the following conditions:- " the Symbol may be used in correspondence, advertising and promotional material, but only in connection with those services listed on the Schedule to the Certificate of Registration; " the Symbol shall NOT be used in any way that may be interpreted as denoting product conformity; " the Symbol may be placed on labels and affixed to the product providing the label contains the following text in a manner that makes it obvious that the text and certification mark are linked; "manufactured under a quality system certified as complying with ISO 900X by an accredited certification body". " the Symbol may be placed on product packaging providing the
following text is included in a manner that makes it obvious that the
text and certification mark are linked; "manufactured under a quality
system certified as complying with ISO 900X by an accredited certification
body". " the Symbol shall not be used by the Certified Supplier in any manner which is considered by SQI to be misleading or deceptive; " the Symbol shall not be used after the expiry of the Certificate of Registration or after the certification has been terminated or revoked for any reason whatsoever; " the words "Quality Assured by Sci-Qual International" may be printed adjacent the Symbol if desired. A Certified Supplier may also be able to use the accreditation mark of the Joint Accreditation System - Australia and New Zealand subject to the following applicable conditions:- " a Certified Supplier may not use the accreditation mark in isolation of SQI's Symbol, the Symbol must have the Certificate of Registration and Relevant Standard numbers adjacent to the marks; " the accreditation mark may be reproduced in a single colour to conform with existing pre-printed stationery or newspaper and magazine articles. A colour combination at variance with the original form shall not be used. A Certified Supplier shall seek advice from SQI; " a Certified Supplier using the accreditation mark shall include its own name or mark and; " ensure that the relationship between SQI's Symbol and the accreditation mark is obvious and SQI's Symbol is not disproportionately represented with reference to the accreditation mark. Certificates issued do not imply that the product or service included on the Schedule to the Certificate are approved by the Council of the Joint Accreditation System - Australia/New Zealand or either of those countries appropriate Government Ministers. VIII. Refusal of Certification Where SQI refuses to certificate the Applicant, notification of the refusal shall be given in writing to the Applicant at its address shown in the application. If the Applicant is dissatisfied with the decision to refuse his certification, the Applicant may request in writing that the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 above be reviewed. Upon receipt of a request from the Applicant for review of the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 above a dispute as to the decision shall be deemed to exist and SQI shall refer the dispute to the Appeal Committee for arbitration. A reference to arbitration pursuant to the preceding clause shall be deemed to be submission to arbitration within the meaning of and in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Arbitration Act 1990 as amended or replaced from time to time. The Arbitrators' decision shall be final. The Applicant and SQI agree to indemnify and keep indemnified the Arbitrators for any costs, expenses or liabilities incurred by them in acting as Arbitrators in accordance with this clause. Upon every and any reference to arbitration pursuant to this clause, the Arbitrators shall direct by whom, in what proportion and in what manner the costs of and incidental to the reference to the Arbitrators shall be paid. IX. Revocation, Surrender or change of Scope of Certificate SQI may at its discretion also revoke or refuse to grant a renewal of a Certificate of Registration if the Certified Supplier commits an act of bankruptcy or makes any arrangement or composition with its creditors, or enters into liquidation, whether compulsory or voluntary, or has a receiver of its business appointed, or is convicted of an offence tending to discredit the reputation and good faith of the Certified Supplier in its business operations. Upon suspension, surrender or withdrawal of its certification/registration
(however determined), The certified supplier must discontinue use of
all advertising matter that contains any reference thereto and return
any certification/registration documents to Sci-Qual International Pty
Ltd within 14 days. Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd will modify the JAS-ANZ
register of Certificated Suppliers at the earliest opportunity and may
advertise the changes to Certification. Cancellation of Certification X. Resolution of Disputes All questions, differences or disputes which shall arise between the Applicant or Certified Supplier and SQI whether during or after the termination of the agreement and whether in relation to the interpretation of these Regulations or to any act or omission by any party or as to any act which ought to be done or is alleged is ought to be done or in relation to any other matter whatsoever in connection with the agreement, and which cannot be resolved by the parties to their mutual satisfaction, shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Clause VIII, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of these regulations. It shall be a condition precedent to any course of action arising in respect of either party in respect of any breach of the Agreement, that the parties shall have submitted themselves to arbitration pursuant to Clauses VIII, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 or this clause, before instituting proceedings in any court of law.
The Applicant shall pay to SQI in addition to the Application Fee
the following payments: " reimbursement of all SQI's costs of investigating the procedures of the Applicant through surveillance to ensure that the conditions associated with a Certificate of Registration are being complied with including SQI's usual fee for such investigation; " reimbursement of all SQI costs in respect of the maintenance of each Certificate of Registration granted; " SQI's usual fees for reimbursement of any costs reasonably incurred by SQI due to the Applicants failure to comply with the conditions attached to a Certificate of Registration. XII. Alterations These Regulations may from time to time be altered by SQI. No such alteration shall affect the right of any Certified Company to use the Symbol or the claim to be registered under the Scheme unless or until it shall have been given notice in writing of such alterations by SQI. SQI will notify the Certified Company of the date by which it must comply with the altered Regulations, which shall not normally be less than six months form the date of notification of the alteration. XIII. Register of Certified Companies A register of Certified Companies shall be kept by SQI and shall be open to inspection by the public at its place of business. The register shall also be made available on request. XIV. Notices Any notice required under this Agreement shall be in writing and signed
by or on behalf of the party giving it and may be served by leaving
it or sending by prepaid delivery or post, or by facsimile transmission
at or through the address last known to the party. Any notice so served
by post shall be deemed to have been served forty-eight (48) hours from
the time of posting. In proving such service, it shall be sufficient
to prove that the notice was properly addressed and was posted in accordance
with this clause. XV. Provision of Confidential Information When SQI are requested to provide confidential information regarding
a client, it will only be provided following contact with the organization
and only when legal proceedings require the information. Public Domain
Information regarding the Certification Details are not included in
this provision. Where reportable breaches of legislation are found during
an assessment, the most senior executive of the Organization available
will be advised immediately, and the Organization given the opportunity
to respond prior to the incident being reported to the relevant authority.
Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd. may from time to time use Sub-Contractors
to conduct Certification and Training Services. By signing the agreement
to proceed approval is given for Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd to use
any Sub-Contractor they deem fit for the task provided there is no conflict
of interest with the Organization. XVI Sampling and Sample Failures Where tested samples fail to meet the standards, the results of the test result shall be immediately notified to Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd by the Client/farmer/farmer group together with the corrective action taken to isolate any product relating to the sample and the actions taken to rectify the root cause of the failure. Sanctions will be imposed in line with the certified standard requirements. XVIII Certified Organisation to maintain records relating to Product Certification The certified organisation shall keep a record of all complaints made known to the organisation relating to a product's compliance with requirements of the relevant standard and to make these records available to the Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd when requested; and ensure that the organisation takes appropriate action with respect to such complaints and any deficiencies found in products or services that affect compliance with the requirements for certification; The actions need to be documented by the certified organisation. XIV Eurepgap non-compliance and contractual requirements In accordance with Section 12 of EUREPGAP General Regulations for Fruit
& Vegetables version 2.1-Jan 04, non-compliances will be dealt with
in the following manner: " Immediate Partial Suspension (following advance notification) MINOR MUST CONTRACTUAL " Immediate suspension " Cancellation " Bankruptcy " Un-announced audits
 
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