31 January 2025
Who does this notice affect?
This notice affects importers of live plants (nursery stock), customs brokers and departmental staff.
What has changed?
From 31 January 2025, enhanced regulatory measures have been introduced to manage the risk of Xylella fastidiosa (Xylella) in imported nursery stock from China. These changes are in line with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s (the department’s) initial notification on 16 January 2025, which advised that the department considers China to be a high-risk country for Xylella.
The revised conditions mean that imports of host nursery stock from China will be required to undergo increased testing, treatment and pre-export certification.
Additionally, the department has updated our Xylella emergency measures to transition from regulating host nursery stock at the plant family level to the genus level. A list of Xylella host genera is published on the department’s website.
Changes to genus level regulation are being implemented in a phased approach, with changes now implemented for imports from China in the first phase. The department will transition emergency measures to genus level regulation for all other exporting countries by the end of 2025, and will communicate our ongoing implementation plan through future alerts and notifications. Current import conditions continue to apply until they are updated.
Revised conditions for Xylella host nursery stock from China
The ‘high-risk’ country conditions that are now in place for Xylella host nursery stock from China apply to tissue cultures and non-tissue cultures (rooted plants, cuttings, budwood, some corms and bulbs).
The conditions for plants from ‘high-risk’ Xylella countries (including China) are:
- Tissue cultures: All tissue cultures must be derived from mother tissue cultures that were found free of Xylella through testing with two polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR) and certified by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the exporting country.
- Non-tissue cultures: All plant material must be treated or tested in Australia, in accordance with one of the following options:
- Hot water treatment (50°C for 45 minutes) at an Approved Arrangement site authorised to perform this treatment, or
- Post-entry quarantine at the Commonwealth’s post-entry quarantine facility for a minimum of 12 months with all plants tested for Xylella.
Host plants imported from China will be managed under the conditions above, at the host genera level rather than at the host family level. All other commodity import conditions will continue to apply.
Consignments in-transit
The revised conditions apply to consignments that are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued on or after 31 January 2025.
Consignments certified prior to 31 January 2025 will be permitted entry under previous conditions.
Impact on import permits and permit applications
The department has contacted affected import permit holders to vary existing permits for host nursery stock from China. Import permits will continue to be amended and permit holders notified as the department progresses changes to genus level regulation for all other exporting countries.
Background
- Xylella is Australia’s highest National Priority Plant Pest. It is an invasive bacterial pathogen that causes a devastating disease in over 700 plant species. If it were to enter Australia, it would be practically impossible to eradicate as there is no treatment or cure.
- Australia has biosecurity requirements for many nursery stock plant species that could carry Xylella. We continue to invest significant effort to monitor, review and respond to evolving risks and new reports of novel pathways, new hosts and affected countries. This ensures that import regulations remain fit-for-purpose, effective and consistent with current scientific information.
- Australia's Xylella emergency measures currently regulate all plant species belonging to a plant family that contains at least one confirmed natural host species of Xylella. To date, the department has identified around 112 plant families that contain Xylella hosts. Some of these plant families include large numbers of genera not known to host Xylella.
- In 2022, the department released the draft Xylella pest risk analysis for stakeholder consultation, which recommended changing the taxonomic level of plant regulation from family level to genus level. That is, regulating all plants within a genus that has one or more confirmed natural host species of Xylella instead of regulating all plants within a family that has one or more confirmed natural host species of Xylella.
- The department has since completed an updated risk assessment which considers the latest scientific information, the recommendations in the draft pest risk analysis report and stakeholder submissions. The department considers that regulation at genus level provides an appropriate level of biosecurity protection (ALOP) while continuing to safely facilitate trade in line with our international obligations. As a result, we are making changes to existing emergency measures to transition conditions from family level regulation for host nursery stock pathways.
Further information
More information on Australia’s emergency measures for Xylella in imported nursery stock is located on the department’s website.
Contact Plant Import Operations via email at imports@aff.gov.au (please title the subject line of the email ‘Plant T2 – Xylella in China’) or by phone on 1800 900 090.