Dr. Lynn Hillyer:

No. The training is complete. Otherwise, we would not have allowed them out as authorised officers. The manual, which explains how we do our business and how we go about it, is still evolving. I do not believe that either the Department or the team on which we are modelling ourselves have such a manual. It is something we are working on in tandem to put together.

In the context of the qualifications, I must be clear. It was very important to us that we had people in the team who come from all different walks of life. For example, there is a person on the team who was an authorised officer for the Department previously and who was in the investigations division. There are other people who are relatively young and who are from much more of a racing yard background, if you like. One of the team members was an equine nurse. I am very fortunate to have five veterinary surgeons on the team. It was mentioned earlier that it should be a veterinary surgeon who automatically goes onto the yards. I do not agree with that. It should be a properly assessed and qualified person, but that qualification does not necessarily mean tertiary education.