We introduce seasonal import measures to manage the risk of Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) during the high risk season.
New seasonal measures will apply for goods shipped on or between
1 September 2018 to 30 April 2019.
Risks
The Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is not found in Australia and needs to be kept out. It could severely impact our agricultural industries. Juveniles and adults feed on, and can severely damage, fruit and vegetable crops. Adult BMSB can also be a nuisance, entering vehicles, homes and factories for shelter over winter.
They can arrive in Australia on cargo and containers shipped between September and April. This coincides with late autumn and winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Find out how to
identify and report brown marmorated stink bug.
2018-19 season measures
You must comply with seasonal measures for certain goods arriving from certain countries that are shipped between
1 September 2018 and
30 April 2019 inclusive.
These measures will include mandatory treatment and increased intervention before arrival into Australian territory.
All goods must still meet
standard import conditions in BICON.
Draft measures
The proposed seasonal measures apply to certain goods shipped as sea cargo from target risk countries.
We will publish details of final seasonal measures soon. This will include applicable goods and countries, and specific treatment rates.
Draft measures include:
- heightened surveillance on all roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) and general cargo vessels with pre-arrival reporting through a questionnaire and daily checks for BMSB
- heightened surveillance to identify high risk vessels to be directed for inspection or treatment
- mandatory offshore treatment for target high risk goods
- increased onshore intervention for target risk goods
- export or destruction of target high risk goods requiring mandatory offshore treatment and arriving untreated, unless exceptional circumstances are granted.
Target risk countries
- USA
- Italy
- Germany
- France
- Russia
- Greece
- Hungary
- Romania
- Georgia
- Japan
(heightened vessel surveillance only).
Target high risk goods
- break bulk, including vehicles, machinery, equipment and parts
- bricks, tiles, ceramics, steel, stone and cement
- goods likely to be stored in a manner that provides access for BMSB to overwinter.
Target risk goods
- chemicals, chemical products, salt, minerals, fertilisers
- plastics, wadding, tyres
- wood pulp, printed matter, straw, paper, cardboard.
Exempted goods
Seasonal measures do not apply to goods not identified as ‘target high risk’ and ‘target risk’.
Treatment options
- heat treatment
- methyl bromide fumigation
- sulfuryl fluoride fumigation.
Information sessions
We held information sessions in Sydney and Melbourne for industry. This included outlining our draft seasonal measures.
You can download and read:
- our powerpoint presentation
- industry questions and our answers (to be available shortly).
Download
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit
web accessibility for assistance.
Offshore treatments and providers
We are finalising new offshore treatment assurance measures for the 2018-2019 BMSB season.
These will ensure that BMSB treatments conducted offshore are effective and consistent. New requirements include:
- minimum standards for offshore BMSB treatments and treatment providers
- a list of approved offshore treatment providers
- processes to prevent the use of fraudulent certificates.
These requirements will apply to
Italy and the
United States. We are also considering increased requirements for offshore treatment providers in other countries. We will notify clients of any changes soon.
Offshore minimum standards
We will publish minimum standards methodologies for these treatments in late July 2018.
We are also developing registration and compliance requirements for BMSB treatment providers. We will publish details of these requirements in late July 2018.
List of approved treatment providers
All BMSB treatment providers in Italy and the United States must register with us. We will add treatment providers who meet our requirements to our
approved list of offshore treatment providers.
We will only accept BMSB treatment certificates from providers included on this list. This will be in effect for the 2018-19 BMSB season.
If you used an offshore treatment provider in the 2017–18 season, let them know about this requirement.
Application forms are not yet available.
If you intend to register for our approved list of offshore treatment providers:
- Notify us of your intent to register as soon as possible. Download a Notification of Intent and submit
via email to
airandseacargo@agriculture.gov.au
- We will contact you when an application form is available. This will be late July 2018.
As part of your application, you must provide documentary evidence to demonstrate your eligibility.
Download
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit
web accessibility for assistance.
Fraudulent certificates
We have developed a system to prevent the use of fraudulent certificates.
We will identify consignments that arrive in Australia with a fraudulent certificate. We will also target consignments with a certificate from a treatment provider that is not approved.
These consignments will either be:
- directed for onshore treatment
- disposed of in an approved manner
- exported.
Further information
For further information regarding BMSB measures, please contact
Air and Sea Cargo.