Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Levies and charges on agricultural products
    • Mouse infestation advice
    • Plant health
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Report a concern
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Plant Innovation Centre
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Budget 2025-26

    Budget 2025-26

    The 2025–26 Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 March 2025.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. About us
  3. News and media
  4. Updated statement on Biosecurity Risk Material on new vehicles arriving in Australia

Back to news - AWE

  • Back to news

Updated statement on Biosecurity Risk Material on new vehicles arriving in Australia

  • Statement
  • Biosecurity
  • Imports
3 March 2023

Since 2021, Australia’s ports have seen an 88 percent increase in new vehicles arriving with biosecurity risk material contamination.

Over the same period, there has been an 17% percent increase in the total number of new vehicle imports into Australia.

Biosecurity risk material must be removed from contaminated vehicles prior to being released.  This cleaning is carried out by commercial companies.

Contamination includes soil, plant debris, seeds and live insects not present in Australia.

These are real and serious threats to Australian agriculture and our natural environment. National biosecurity standards at the border remain unchanged.

Current delays to the delivery of new vehicles are a direct result of the capacity of the commercial companies to manage the surge in contaminated vehicles arriving at the border.

There are no delays associated with Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry responsibilities in this process.

Biosecurity Officers undertake surveillance to check for biosecurity risk material on vehicles arriving Australia and confirm the effectiveness of the cleaning undertaken by commercial companies prior to the release of vehicles.

There are no resourcing shortages with Biosecurity Officers undertaking the surveillance processes, nor are there any delays associated with inspections by Biosecurity Officers.

The department is working with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and its members to encourage and assist them to implement offshore cleaning measures.

Some already have effective measures in place, which reduces biosecurity risk and import delays on arrival.

The department strongly encourages the FCAI to work with its members to establish offshore cleaning measures where they do not exist.

Vehicle manufacturers have advised that increased rates of biosecurity contamination are likely due to several commercial factors, including changes due to COVID. 

Some vehicles may be stored in paddocks or parking lots overseas where they are inadvertently contaminated prior to export. 

Inquiries about specific vehicle deliveries should be directed to the relevant manufacturer, or the FCAI at info@fcai.com.au.

Fast facts:

Below are some examples of biosecurity risk material that has been found in or on new vehicles since July 2022 and their potential impact if they were to establish in Australia:

  • Siam Weed
    • Siam weed is one of the world’s worst weeds, with a phenomenal growth rate and massive seed production.
    • Plants can reach 10 metres by scrambling through adjacent vegetation.
    • It forms impenetrable thickets to three metres tall in open sites, such as river banks and pastures.
    • It can smother tropical fruit crops, young forestry plantations and pastures. It is also a serious environmental weed, invading native woodlands and posing a major fire hazard in the dry season.
    • If Siam weed established widely in Australia, control would cost millions of dollars a year. Tropical crops, grazing land and natural ecosystems would be threatened.
  • Exotic snails
    • Exotic snails can be highly invasive, impacting on agriculture, human health and biodiversity.
    • While they’re slow moving they can spread widely by stowing away on plants and goods as they are moved around.
    • Snails also pose a threat to human health because they carry bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted if handled with bare hands or eaten.
    • Australia does not permit the importation of snails as they are likely to escape and spread causing problems for all kinds of plants and the environment in Australia.
  • Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB)
    • Brown marmorated stink bug can breed huge populations that become both a household nuisance as well as a major problem for crop growers.
    • BMSB feeds on more than 300 host plants, including fruit trees and woody ornamentals.
    • If BMSB established in Australia it would be extremely difficult and expensive to manage, since it isn’t easily controlled with pesticides and it eats a huge range of plants.
    • It likes to hide in houses in cooler weather and, as the name suggests, also emits an offensive smell.
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Copy link

Related

Image of 12 eggs, two partly wrapped in white plastic or paper, with a ruler at the bottom of the image

Be a good egg this Easter and bring chocolate only

  • Newsletter
  • Biosecurity
14 April 2025
Image of seeds in a petrie dish, with a ruler in the background

Don’t let seeds cost your pocket and Australia’s environment

  • Newsletter
  • Biosecurity
09 April 2025
Image of an assortment of shipping containers and a machine being used to unload them

Updating industry on our biosecurity import clearance reforms

  • News
  • Biosecurity
08 April 2025
Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip
Page last updated: 03 March 2023

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram