Biosecurity questions and answers

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry protects Australia from exotic pests and diseases, while the Australian Border Force intercepts illegal goods, such as drugs and weapons. These agencies work together at airports, seaports, and mail centres to detect and deter the unlawful movement of goods into Australia.

More about the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
More about the Australian Border Force.

Australia has strict laws relating to the importation of certain goods. This ensures that the biosecurity risk to Australia’s agricultural industries and unique environment is minimised.

You must declare certain food, plant material and animal products. Your declaration will be checked by a biosecurity officer who will determine whether they are allowed into Australia.

Some products may require treatment to make them safe. Other goods may not be allowed into Australia due to pest and disease risks.

See Bringing or mailing goods to Australia.

You will be given an Incoming Passenger Card (IPC) before you arrive in Australia. You must complete your IPC accurately. Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence.

You must mark ‘Yes’ if you are carrying certain food, plant material or animal products. A biosecurity officer will assess your declaration and, if necessary, inspect the goods.

Alternatively, you will have the opportunity to voluntarily dispose of any food, plant material or animal products in the bins at the terminal.

Even if you have not declared any goods on your IPC, your baggage may be screened by X-ray or detector dog and/or inspected by a biosecurity officer.

If you provide false or misleading information to a biosecurity officer or on your Incoming Passenger Card, or if you fail to answer questions about the goods or comply with directions given by a biosecurity officer, you may be:

• given an infringement notice of up to $6,600
• subject to civil penalty proceedings, and/or
• prosecuted for a criminal offence.

Your visa may also be cancelled and, if so, you will be refused entry into Australia and you may not be able to return to Australia for up to three years.

You will not be penalised under the Biosecurity Act 2015 if you declare and present all goods, even if they are not allowed into Australia.

Your declaration will be assessed by a biosecurity officer and, if necessary, the goods will be inspected. You may be required to provide information or documents to enable the biosecurity officer to determine the risk. In many cases, goods you declare will be of low risk and will be returned to you after inspection. However, goods that may present an unacceptable level of biosecurity risk will be managed in accordance with the Biosecurity Act 2015. At any time during the inspection process you may voluntarily dispose of the goods in a bin at the terminal.

Depending on the risk management actions available for the specific goods, you may:

• pay for the goods to be treated to reduce the biosecurity risk to an acceptable level
• pay to export the goods from Australia, or
• forfeit the goods.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry does not accept liability for any damage that may occur to your goods during treatment or export.

The imported goods you buy in Australia have been commercially produced and imported under strict biosecurity conditions.

Similar goods that are homemade, traditionally produced, or purchased overseas by travellers do not meet these conditions and could carry biosecurity pest or disease risks.

You must declare all goods on your Incoming Passenger Card so a biosecurity officer can assess whether importing the goods presents a biosecurity risk.

It may be possible for pests and diseases to contaminate your goods while overseas.

You must declare these goods on your Incoming Passenger Card so a biosecurity officer can assess whether importing the goods (bringing the goods back into Australia) presents a biosecurity risk.

For information about bringing or sending goods to Australia, visit Travelling to Australia.

If you need more information on goods that need to be declared or that require an import permit, visit the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

BICON provides information about Australian biosecurity import conditions for more than 20,000 plant, animal, mineral, and biological products. It can be used to determine if a commodity intended for import to Australia needs an import permit and/or treatment or if there are any other biosecurity conditions.

The information available in BICON is the same information that biosecurity officers use when inspecting goods arriving in Australia. Import conditions within BICON are regularly reviewed, so please ensure you check the conditions each time you travel or send goods.

Each country has specific requirements as to goods that are allowed to be imported. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry does not keep a record of other countries’ requirements. For further information, you should contact the relevant country’s consulate or embassy in your nearest capital city.

Some states prohibit the entry of goods from other parts of Australia.

See Travelling within Australia.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry organises its resources at international airports to match scheduled flight arrival patterns. However, a range of factors including airport infrastructure and baggage transfer arrangements can influence the time it takes for passengers to move through the baggage reclaim area and the inspection area.

For faster clearances through Australian airports, make sure you are not carrying any fresh fruit, vegetables, plants, seeds, and meat, animal or wood products. You should also ensure that your footwear, sporting and recreational equipment is dry and clean (i.e free from soil, seeds and grass) - including golf clubs, bikes and prams.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry uses detector dogs as part of a range of tools to intercept biosecurity risk material at the border. Detector dog teams are highly mobile and can screen large volumes of arriving passengers, mail and cargo quickly and effectively.

See Detector dogs.

Australia is well prepared to handle pest and disease outbreaks because of its excellent health system, well tested emergency response plans, past experience and international connections. The Government regularly assesses its ability to manage an outbreak through planning and exercises involving people at the highest levels of both government and industry. This allows for an informed approach to any complex and/or serious incident that may arise.

See National pests and disease outbreaks.

The cabin and holds of all aircraft arriving in Australia must be disinsected (sprayed). Aircraft disinsection helps to protect Australia from human diseases carried by insects including dengue fever, yellow fever, Ross River fever, and malaria.

Some airlines disinsect their aircraft using a treatment that lasts for up to three months and therefore do not disinsect (spray) the aircraft before landing in Australia.

The safety and effectiveness of pyrethroids for different applications in vector control, including disinsection of aircraft, have been assessed by the World Health Organization and do not harm human health when used as directed.

See Disinsection.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry assesses international mail items sent to Australia. Biosecurity requirements apply to goods ordered on the internet.

See Sending or ordering goods online from outside Australia.

Cats and dogs can be imported into Australia under strict conditions to manage biosecurity risks. The owner or importer must pay all fees associated with the import and quarantine accommodation.

See Bringing cats and dogs to Australia.

Timber/wood may be imported in a highly processed state such as high quality furniture, picture frames, tool handles and composite wood material or as sawn timber or wood packaging (including dunnage). The latter represent a significant biosecurity risk if not properly treated.

See Importing timber, wooden articles, bamboo and related products, or contact Timber Imports.

Australia exports around 72% of its agricultural produce and promotes fair and consistent trading rules for all countries around the world. We cannot expect trading partners to take our produce if we are not prepared to apply the same rules to their products.

The Australian Government takes a very conservative approach to biosecurity and through Government policy aims to reduce the risk to a very low level to protect Australia’s industry and unique environment while maintaining international travel and trade.

It would not be practical for Australia to take a ‘zero risk’ approach, as it would mean no tourists, no international travel and no trade with other countries. Other countries could then apply the same policy and our products would not be accepted overseas.