This work program was a key initiative in strengthening biosecurity surveillance and analysis which was funded through the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.
An operational review of plant, animal and biological import conditions to protect Australia’s biosecurity status and maintain our market access for agricultural products was completed in June 2019.
The review provided an opportunity to:
- ensure import conditions are easy to find and understand in the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON)
- ensure import conditions are based on current information and risk management approaches while being a minimum burden
- identify treatments to manage biosecurity risks such as pests, disease and contaminants.
The amount of change to import conditions varied between commodities. Some had minimal or no change, and some underwent significant changes.
Where possible we worked with industry to help us conduct the reviews and plan for implementation. This ensured we made sound decisions about Australia’s import conditions. It also ensured that stakeholders understood and is prepared for required changes.
Register for updates
If you are an importer, subscribe to our Import Industry Advice Notices to stay informed about changes to import conditions that may apply to your goods.
You can also register as a BICON user to access and follow changes to import conditions for specific commodities. Use the follow case function to receive an email when something changes. Learn how to use BICON through our introductory eLearning module.
Import condition reviews
Animal and biological import conditions
The review of import conditions for all live animals, reproductive material, animal derived biological products and all imported microorganisms is now complete. Updated conditions will continue to be reflected in BICON. Information about changes to import conditions can be found in the specific commodity cases, under alerts and changes.
Please use the follow case function in BICON to receive notifications about changes.
Plant import condition reviews
Our work to review the import conditions for a range of plant commodities is now complete. Updated conditions will continue to be reflected in BICON and information about each commodity group can be accessed using these links:
- Timber/timber products (finalised July 2016)
- Fresh cut flowers and foliage (finalised February 2017)
- Products for human consumption - fresh and dried plant produce (finalised December 2017)
- Research material (finalised April 2018)
- Plant based stockfeed (finalised February 2018)
- Seeds for planting (finalised December 2018)
- Live plants (finalised June 2019)
- Other processed plant products (finalised June 2019)
Further assistance
For more information about animal or biological commodity reviews email the ABIB Business and Reform Team.
For more information about plant commodity reviews email Plant Imports.