The pages below outline the information that is required to accompany permit applications to import biological products.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) is required to source and assess data on a range of products to ensure that they do not pose a risk to Australia's biosecurity status. Many biologicals and foodstuffs are complex products that contain a variety of ingredients. To complete assessment of your application, the department needs to know precisely what these ingredients are, where they come from and how they have been processed.
The standard application form allows enough space to cover this information simple goods, but for more complex goods you may include an attachment providing:
- a full list of ingredients - including percentages - of animal, microbial or plant origin or derivation (note that this is a list of ingredients or raw materials, not a chemical analysis)
- the source of the animal, microbial or plant ingredients including species and country of origin and, for animal or plant material, the part of the animal or plant from which the ingredients were obtained
- details of the manufacturing process, including heat treatments (time and temperature), chemical treatments and any microbiological testing carried out on the ingredients and/or the final product (include a flow diagram of the process if possible).
In some cases this information will be commercial-in-confidence and the manufacturer or exporter will not release it to you. In these circumstances you can instruct the manufacturer to send the information directly to the department, marked "commercial-in-confidence", and with reference to your application. The department must comply with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in relation to matters affecting the business affairs of an organisation.