The Department of Agriculture runs a Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS; formerly known as the Compliance-Based Inspection Scheme, or Plant Product Pathway Q-ruler and the Continuous Sampling Plan) for the importation of selected plant products to Australia.
The scheme rewards importers of these products who demonstrate consistent compliance with Australia’s biosecurity requirements with risk-based inspection rates. Compliant importers benefit from the CBIS through smoother clearance of goods at the border and reduced regulatory costs.
To qualify for risk-based inspection under the CBIS, importers will need to:
- import an eligible product under an appropriate tariff (see tables below)
- lodge the entry in line mode
- lodge the entry with the correct AQIS Commodity Code where required
- meet import conditions
- meet the requirements for repeated compliance
Eligible plant products
Since the implementation of the CBIS in July 2013, the following plant products have since been added to the scheme:
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Dried fruit and herbs
| Product | Tariff code | Date added to CBIS | Qualification number | Risk-based inspection rate |
|---|
| Allspice of the genus
Pimenta (dried, neither crushed nor ground) | 0904.21.00 | July 2016 | 5 | 10% |
| Apples (dried) | 0813.30.00 | November 2015 | 5 | 10% |
| Apricots (dried) | 0813.10.00 | July 2013 | 10 | 10% |
| Capsicum and chilli of the genus
Capsicum (dried, neither crushed nor ground) | 0904.21.00 | July 2016 | 5 | 10% |
| Coconut (desiccated) | 0801.11.00 | November 2015 | 5 | 10% |
| Dates (dried) | 0804.10.00 | July 2013 | 10 | 10% |
| Grapes (dried) | 0806.20.00 | August 2014 | 5 | 10% |
| Pepper of the genus
Piper (dried, neither crushed or ground) | 0904.11.00 | July 2016 | 5 | 10% |
| Prunes (dried) | 0813.20.00 | November 2015 | 5 | 10% |
| Saffron | 0910.20.00 | July 2016 | 3 | 10% |
Fresh fruit and vegetables
| Product | Tariff code | Date added to CBIS | Qualification number | Risk-based inspection rate |
|---|
| Capsicum and peppers of the genus Capsicum annuum (fresh, from New Zealand) | 0709.60.00 | August 2019 | 5 | 25% |
| Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from New Zealand) | 0809.29.00 | August 2019 | 5 | 50% |
| Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from the USA) | 0809.29.00 | June 2017 | 5 | 25% |
| Dates (fresh, from the USA only) | 0804.10.00 | July 2013 | 10 | 10% |
| Chilled durian segments (from Thailand and Malaysia only) | 0810.60.00 | May 2017 | 3 | 10% |
| Immature coconuts (fresh) | 0801.12.00 | August 2019 | 5 | 25% |
| Oranges (fresh, from the USA only) | 0805.10.00 | August 2019 | 10 | 50% |
| Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcots, plums or pluots and prunes (fresh, from New Zealand) | 0809.10.00, 0809.30.00, 0809.40.00 | August 2019 | 5 | 50% |
| Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums or approved interspecific stone fruit hybrids (fresh, from the USA) | 0809.10.00, 0809.30.00, 0809.40.00 | June 2017 | 5 | 25% |
| Avocado (fresh, from New Zealand only) | 0804.40.00 | October 2017 | 5 | 50% |
| Lemons and limes (fresh, from the USA only) | 0805.50.00 | November 2017 | 5 | 25% |
| Peas of the species
Pisum sativum (fresh, from China only) | 0708.10.00 | January 2019 | 5 | 25% |
| Mandarins (fresh, from Israel only) | 0805.21.00 | January 2019 | 5 | 25% |
Nuts
| Product | Tariff code | Date added to CBIS | Qualification number | Risk-based inspection rate |
|---|
| Almonds (raw, shell removed) | 0802.12.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
| Brazil nuts (raw, shell removed) | 0801.22.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
| Cashews (raw) | 0801.3 | August 2014 | 5 | 50% |
| Hazelnuts (raw, shell removed) | 0802.22.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
| Macadamias (raw, shell removed) | 0802.62.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
| Pistachios (raw, shell removed) | 0802.52.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
| Walnuts (raw, shell removed) | 0802.32.00 | July 2015 | 5 | 50% |
Grains and seeds
| Product | Tariff code | Date added to CBIS | Qualification number | Risk-based inspection rate |
|---|
| Green coffee beans (for processing) | 0901.1 | July 2013 | 10 | 50% |
| Malted grains | 1107 | June 2015 | 5 | 10% |
| Sesame seed (hulled) | 1207.40.00 | July 2013 | 10 | 50% |
Additional plant and animal products are currently being assessed for the CBIS, with the aim to add more products in the near future.
Qualifying for risk-based inspection rates
The scheme is applied to eligible products through the Agriculture Import Management System (AIMS), where importers that meet the criteria are able to qualify for risk-based rates of intervention. Where the department specifies the use of an AQIS Commodity Code (ACC), the broker
must enter the appropriate code in the Integrated Cargo System when lodging the consignment.
To qualify for the risk-based inspection rate, importers must initially pass a defined number of consecutive document assessments and inspections.
This qualification number varies (see tables above), depending on the risks associated with the product.
AQIS Commodity Codes
For some eligible products on the CBIS, a four-digit AQIS Commodity Code (ACC) is required for the scheme to be applied through AIMS. The ACC
must be entered by importers and brokers when lodging eligible consignments in the Integrated Cargo System. Consignments lodged without a required ACC may remain unprocessed.
Required ACCs are published under the Import Conditions within relevant BICON cases to assist brokers and importers when lodging consignments. They are also outlined in the tables below:
Product | Required ACC |
|---|
Avocado (fresh, from New Zealand only) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program Note: No ACC is required for avocado consignments that are subject to inspection on arrival | OPIN |
Capsicum and peppers of the genus
Capsicum annuum (fresh, from New Zealand only) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program Note: No ACC is required for
capsicum annuum consignments that are subject to inspection on arrival | OPIN |
Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from New Zealand) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program | OPIN |
Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from New Zealand) subject to inspection on arrival | NZCH |
Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from the USA) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program | OPIN |
Cherries of the species
Prunus avium (fresh, from the USA) subject to inspection on arrival | USCH |
Immature coconuts (fresh) | IMMA |
Oranges (fresh, from the USA only) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program | OPIN |
Oranges (fresh, from the USA only) subject to inspection on arrival | ORAN |
Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcots, plums, pluots or prunes (fresh, from New Zealand) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program | OPIN |
Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcots, plums, pluots or prunes (fresh, from New Zealand) subject to inspection on arrival | NZSF |
Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums or approved interspecific stone fruit hybrids (fresh, from the USA) imported under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program | OPIN |
Permitted stone fruits including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums or approved interspecific stone fruit hybrids (fresh, from the USA) subject to inspection on arrival | USSF |
Exclusions
Consignments cleared under the Offshore Pre-shipment Inspection (OPI) program are not eligible for the CBIS.
Mandatory inspections are still required for all consignments that are:
- lodged in container mode
- lodged without an ACC where one is required
- processed via the Automatic Entry Processing (AEP) scheme
- restricted due to other system rules or biosecurity concerns
Risk-based inspection rates
Once an importer has qualified under the scheme, the compliance of any future consignments will continue to be monitored under risk-based inspection rates. The risk-based inspection rates range from 10 to 50 % frequency depending on the:
- product type (see tables above)
- end use
- biosecurity risk posed by the product
- compliance history of the pathway and the importer
- other measures applied on the pathway (treatments)
Risk-based inspection rates are based on the biosecurity risk currently posed by the products and may be subject to change at any time.
The inspection rate is applied as a ‘probability of inspection’ individually to each eligible line within a consignment by the department’s entry management systems. This means that an individual line may be selected to be inspected or not inspected. For example, if the inspection rate is 10 per cent for that product then every line has a 10 per cent chance of being directed for an inspection.
If non-compliance is detected during the inspection or documentation assessment, the importer will return to 100 per cent intervention until they have once again demonstrated compliance and met the number of inspections required to re-qualify for the risk-based inspection rate.
Status of CBIS consignments in Integrated Cargo System
Customs brokers and freight forwarders importing under the Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme may need to be aware of how the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) will display status for a CBIS consignment.
Entries that contain a line of goods eligible for the CBIS that have been selected for inspection will automatically switch to a “CONDCLEAR” status in the ICS immediately after the entry is lodged.
The status changes before a documentation assessment has been conducted and before details of the AIMS directions associated with the consignment are sent to clients. The status will change to CONDCLEAR even if other lines in the entry are also subject to biosecurity control.
The CONDCLEAR status means that clearance remains subject to biosecurity conditions. The CONDCLEAR status allows the consignment to be moved to an appropriate approved arrangements site for inspection once the biosecurity direction has been issued, but no part of a consignment with a CONDCLEAR status can be released from biosecurity control until the status is changed to CLEAR.
Details of the conditions associated with a CONDCLEAR status will be emailed out as AIMS directions. A CLEAR status will only be obtained once the biosecurity concerns for all lines have been addressed through documentation assessments, inspections and/or treatments (as required).
Further information
For more information on the Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme you can email
Imports (Tier 2 -Plant CBIS) or telephone 1800 900 090.