15 April 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Importers and their agents/representatives responsible with importing and booking biosecurity inspections of stockfeed consignments arriving bulk-in ship hold.
What has changed?
To support more efficient and consistent booking of inspection activities for bulk stockfeed consignments, the department has made the following enhancements to the Biosecurity Portal:
New inspection work types:
The department will be releasing two new inspection work types in the Biosecurity Portal to streamline the booking process for bulk stockfeed consignments:
- Bulk Commodity in Ship Hold Inspection (Stockfeed)
- Bulk Commodity Landed Goods Inspection (Stockfeed)
The new inspection types will assist users when booking the mandatory inspection activities for bulk stockfeed that occur at class 21.1 (on-arrival at the wharf) and 2.3 (landed bulk stockfeed at a third-party premises) Approved Arrangement sites.
Based on data analysis, average inspection times have been applied to these inspection types in the system to support the accurate booking of biosecurity officers. The system will continue to allocate two officers to complete the on-arrival in-ship hold inspection of bulk stockfeed consignments, unless otherwise advised by industry.
Booking one officer instead of two:
To nominate an industry representative to assist with the on-arrival in-ship hold inspection of bulk stockfeed consignments, the booking agent must include this information in the Additional Comments field when submitting the inspection request via the Biosecurity Portal.
The presence of an industry representative reduces the need for multiple biosecurity officers to attend, which in turn improves officer availability and lowers inspection-related fees compared to inspections requiring two officers.
Confirming the number of holds requiring inspection:
When requesting an on-arrival in-ship hold inspection, the number of holds requiring inspection must be specified in the Additional Comments field. This information is essential to ensure appropriate resource allocation and efficient scheduling.
Further information
We encourage all importers to check our Portal Support webpage for further information.
For general enquiries or enquiries relating to importing bulk stockfeed please contact the department on 1800 900 090 or imports@aff.gov.au.