06:21

A senate inquiry in halal certification has found that “lacklustre” regulation has given rise to scammers, and that the federal government needs to step in and set minimum standards for certification. In a report tabled in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, the committee recommended that the federal government work with the halal certification industry on setting minimum standards which certifiers would be forced to comply with. The standards would be monitored by the Department of Agriculture.

“It is an inescapable fact that halal certification is poorly understood, and arguably under-regulated, certainly in the domestic market,” the former chairman of the committee, Sam Dastyari, said. “This compromises the integrity of the system and has allowed questionable conduct by certifiers of questionable expertise and questionable intent. “Let me be clear: some certifiers are nothing more than scammers.”