24 August 2016
Who does this notice affect?
This notice is of interest to importers (and their customs brokers) of eligible products (peat and selected vegetable seeds) who wish to participate in a new reduced-inspection trial.
For a full list of eligible products, please see the department’s webpage on the trial.
What has changed?
On Monday 29 August 2016, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is commencing a trial of a new inspection protocol on eligible peat and selected vegetable seed imports.
This trial will reward importers of eligible products who demonstrate a strong history of compliance with Australia’s biosecurity requirements with fewer inspections of their goods at the border.
From 29 August 2016, importers who have passed 10 consecutive inspections on eligible products will qualify for a reduced inspection rate of 25 per cent. This means each subsequent consignment from the importer will have a one-in-four (25 per cent) chance of being inspected. However, if a consignment fails an inspection, the importer will be required to undergo mandatory inspection of all subsequent consignments until another 10 consignments in a row have again passed inspection.
To participate in the trial, importers must ensure their customs brokers enter an AQIS Commodity Code for eligible products when lodging consignments in the Integrated Cargo System. Consignments that are lodged without this code will require inspection and will not count towards the 10 qualifying inspection passes for the trial.
Further information
Please see the compliance-based inspection trial for peat and selected vegetable seeds website for further information about:
- eligible products;
- how to participate; and
- how the trial will work.
You can also email Plant Import Operations Branch at Plant Imports or phone 1800 900 090.