17 June 2021
Who does this notice affect?
This notice is of interest to importers (and their customs brokers) of Lolium spp., Festuca spp. seeds and their hybrids (Festulolium spp.) for the end use of sowing and human consumption.
What will be changing?
The purpose of this notice is to advise that as a result of a departmental review, the department will update our approach to manage imported seed lots of Lolium spp., Festuca spp. seeds and their hybrids (Festulolium spp.), that are found with sclerotia contamination. This change will occur on the 11 August 2021.
- Where sclerotia has been identified as a contaminant and has been identified as one of the below species, the detection will continue to be considered as non-actionable for Australia:
- Sclerotium bataticola
- Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
- Sclerotium rolfsii.
- Where sclerotia has been identified as a contaminant and is not one of the species listed above or cannot be identified to species level, a 0.05% tolerance level will be in place.
If the sclerotia cannot be identified to species level and is over the 0.05% tolerance level, remedial actions to manage the contaminant risk will be required. Remedial actions may include further species identification, cleaning, export or disposal.
These changes will be reflected in the department’s webpage for Seed contaminants and tolerance tables.
When will the changes be implemented
The above changes will apply to all Lolium spp., Festuca spp. or Festulolium spp. seed consignments that are:
- exported to Australia on or after 11 August 2021
- accompanied by an offshore seed purity certificate (e.g., Orange ISTA Certificate, NAL certificate) in which sclerotia is identified as a contaminant
- onshore purity tested and where sclerotia is identified as a contaminant.
Note: Commercial documentation will be required to confirm the date of export (e.g., Bill of Lading, airway bill) to Australia.
Further information
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or email imports@aff.gov.au
Stakeholders can keep informed through BICON Alerts by subscribing to the following BICON cases:
This will allow you to receive email updates when there are any changes to the above BICON cases. See Instructions on how to follow a BICON case.