Notice to Industry 10: Cleaning contractors - biosecurity requirements

To inform cleaning contractors of the biosecurity requirements and their obligations when cleaning and disinfecting the aircraft hold, airport corral or horse stalls used for importing horses.

These requirements do not apply to:

• horse consignments imported from New Zealand or New Caledonia.
• Approved Arrangement (AA) sites operating a corral and/or managing horse stalls. AA sites have separate conditions according to their individual AA agreement.

To the extent that this information is inconsistent with any import permit or direction, the terms and conditions of the import permit or direction take precedence and will apply. Failure to comply with a condition of an import permit, direction of a biosecurity officer or industry notice may constitute an offence.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regulates the import of horses and equipment used to transport horses. The aircraft, corral and horse stalls pose a biosecurity risk as they may be contaminated with equine hair, faeces, blood or mucus. Plant and soil material are also a risk for transmitting viable weed seeds. People in contact with the aircraft, corral and horse stalls may transmit exotic diseases such as equine influenza (EI) if they contact an infected horse or it's equipment.

Removal and correct disposal of biosecurity risk material (BRM) and the use of disinfectants are required to ensure the biosecurity risk to Australia is managed. Approved disinfectants (and details of their approved use) are listed below.

The cleaning contractor must use appropriate equipment that is in good working order and is powerful enough to complete the task. The equipment itself must be easily cleaned and disinfected.

Once cleaning contractors have completely removed the BRM, the aircraft must be inspected by a department biosecurity officer. If remaining BRM is detected, the cleaning contractor must clean the relevant areas again under biosecurity officer supervision.

All waste must be collected into biosecurity waste bags (double bagged).

When directed by the department biosecurity officer, the cleaning contractor must disinfect areas of the aircraft, stairs and surrounding areas and cargo with water glass solution.

Once cleaning of the aircraft is complete, all cleaning equipment must itself be cleaned and disinfected to the satisfaction of the biosecurity officer.

The cleaning contractor must wear dedicated clothing (eg. disposable overalls) while cleaning the aircraft hold and remove that dedicated clothing upon exit, complying with personal decontamination requirements as directed by the biosecurity officer.

The corral must be cleaned and disinfected after every import consignment of horses (excluding New Zealand and New Caledonia). If there are two or more horse arrivals in close succession and they will be part of the same post arrival quarantine (PAQ) intake, permission may be granted by the department regional office horse coordinator to clean and disinfect only after the final arrival.

Contractors cleaning and disinfecting the corral are required to:

• Read, understand and comply with this notice.
• Wear dedicated clothing and footwear whilst cleaning and disinfecting the corral.
• Immediately following the cleaning and disinfection of the corral, take a head to toe, 3-minute shower and change into clean clothing and footwear.
• The clothing used during the cleaning and disinfection must be laundered. If there is visible dirt on footwear, it must be scrubbed to remove the dirt and then disinfected with Virkon.

When cleaning the corral, the following is required:

• All BRM must be removed and placed in biosecurity waste bags (double bagged) for treatment/destruction as biosecurity waste.
• All solid waste must be disposed of before wet cleaning commences. Water borne solid waste must be contained within the corral by using a sieve if required.
• Corral area to be hosed clean. There must be sufficient pressure in the cleaning hose to completely remove visual contamination.
• If water runs outside of the corral, it must be treated with an appropriate disinfectant (Virkon or Virocid). Vehicles must not drive over this area during the contact time required for that disinfectant.
• The department biosecurity officer must inspect the corral and may direct remedial cleaning if necessary.

When disinfecting the corral, the following is required:

• All ground and hard surfaces must be sprayed with Virkon or Virocid as per manufacturer’s directions.
  Note: Contractor must be able to demonstrate correct concentration to a department biosecurity officer and that the disinfectant is before its expiry date.
• There must be sufficient pressure to cover all surfaces (including ground) with the disinfectant.
• There disinfectant must be in contact with all surfaces for more than 10 minutes after which it may be washed off.
• The department department biosecurity officer must inspect the corral and may direct remedial disinfection if necessary.
• Items with soft surfaces such as lead ropes used for horses at the corral should be soaked with Virkon or Virocid after use for 10 minutes, before being rinsed and inspected by a department biosecurity officer.
• Lanyards used at the corral should be decontaminated thoroughly by a biosecurity officer, using ethanol wipes.

All horse stalls, crates and air pallets used for the import of horses must be cleaned at a department Approved Arrangement (AA) site as soon as possible after the horses have been offloaded (unless scheduled for re-export as per BICON conditions).

Horse stalls must be cleaned at an AA site (Class 4.3/1.2/1.3) with an approved wash bay. Before movement to an AA site, the following is required to prevent escape of BRM:

• place all equipment (e.g. boards and poles) back into the stalls
• close the doors of the stalls
• make sure the flaps are down
• remove all visible BRM from the outside of the stalls and place it into biosecurity waste bins
• apply biosecurity directions and biosecurity hold tape to prevent unauthorised handling
• a department biosecurity officer must issue directions for movement to an AA site for cleaning and disinfection.

When cleaning horse stalls, personnel must:

• Remove/lock away all equipment if not required for cleaning and disinfection of the horse stalls.
• Remove the biosecurity hold tape and place in a biosecurity waste bin.
• Remove the feed, litter and all solid waste from the stalls and place in biosecurity waste bins.
• Clean surfaces of the stall, including external surfaces and underneath the stall, with high pressure hosing. All surfaces must be visibly clean.
• Remove all BRM (including seeds) from the hay nets and mosquito nets. A department biosecurity officer must inspect nets. Alternatively, nets may be disposed of as biosecurity waste or directed for re-export.
• Thoroughly clean all equipment (including waterproof footwear and clothing) used during the cleaning at the conclusion of the cleaning operation each day.

Once cleaning is complete, personnel at the AA site may disinfect the horse stall if it is part of their approved arrangement. The AA site must then organise for a biosecurity officer to inspect the cleaned and disinfected stall. The biosecurity officer may direct remedial cleaning and disinfection if necessary.

Note: The inspection may be completed by the department biosecurity officer virtually if they are not able to be present at the AA site.

If disinfection is not part of the AA site’s approved arrangement, a department biosecurity officer must inspect the cleaned stall. The biosecurity officer may direct remedial cleaning if necessary. The horse stalls must then be disinfected by AA site personnel under the direct supervision of the department biosecurity officer.

The disinfectant must remain on the stalls for at least the minimum contact time as per manufacturer’s directions (e.g. 10 minutes for Virkon or Virocid). The disinfection process should be carried out in a systematic fashion to ensure that areas that have been disinfected are not re-contaminated. The recommended order of cleaning is roof-wall-floor, repeated for each horse stall.