16 December 2019
Who does this notice affect?
All internal and external stakeholders who may require Department of Agriculture regulatory services between the Department’s shut down period.
What has changed?
The Department of Agriculture Canberra Office will close from cob Tuesday, 24 December 2019 and will re-open at the commencement of business on Thursday, 2 January 2020.
The Canberra switchboard will be closed from cob Tuesday, 24 December 2019 until the commencement of business on Thursday, 2 January 2020. Switchboards for locations outside of Canberra will be operating on reduced hours during this period.
The Department’s general inquiry line (1800 900 090) will not operate during the periods noted as ‘Closed’ in the table below.
Regional offices are operating as per the table below.
All online regulatory services and lodgement systems will be available for use over this period. However, processing will only occur by departmental staff during hours of operation specified below. All departmental services will resume at the commencement of business on Thursday, 2 January 2020.
The Department’s hours of operation in all regional offices and major ports, including the delivery of regulatory services, are as follows:
| Date | Office Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 23/12/19 Tuesday 24/12/19 |
Open | Normal regulatory services available. |
| Wednesday 25/12/19 Thursday 26/12/19 |
Closed | Limited regulatory services available. Appointments for these days must be requested prior to the close of business on 20 December 2019. Public Holiday/Weekend – Regulatory services provided on these days will be subject to overtime charges. |
| Friday 27/12/19 Monday 30/12/19 Tuesday 31/12/19 |
Open | Limited regulatory services available. Appointments for these days must be requested prior to the close of business on 20 December 2019. Where this is not possible due to perishable nature of goods, submit as soon as possible. |
| Saturday 28/12/19 Sunday 29/12/19 Wednesday 01/01/20 |
Closed | Limited regulatory services available. Appointments for these days must be requested prior to the close of business on 20 December 2019. Where this is not possible due to perishable nature of goods, submit as soon as possible. Public Holiday/Weekend – Regulatory services provided on these days will be subject to overtime charges. |
| Thursday 02/1/20 | Open | Normal regulatory services available. |
Please refer to any other advice issued via the department’s website to specific services.
Further information
Unless otherwise specified, contact details for the department and regional offices can be found at Contact us.
Overtime fees (when applicable) will be charged in accordance with the departments Fees and Charges policy, which can be found on the department’s website.
Please call the department’s general inquiry line 1800 900 090 if further information is required.
If you identify something of concern that may have entered Australia with imported goods report it to See Secure Report on 1800 798 636 or complete the online form.
The Department of Agriculture staff would like to take this opportunity to wish all our stakeholders the very best for the coming holiday period.
We thank you for your cooperation throughout this year and look forward to continuing to work together to protect Australia's strong biosecurity status in 2020.