Prior to departing your last overseas port, you must comply with our biosecurity reporting requirements.
The Biosecurity obligations for aircraft arriving in Australian territory outlines the mandatory obligations at each stage of aircraft clearance.
Here we’ve reproduced the section on our requirements prior to departing your last overseas port.
Proactive risk management
Prior to entering Australian territory, you should meet the department’s biosecurity reporting requirements and ensure any risks associated with your aircraft are appropriately managed. Being proactive can assist biosecurity outcomes and prevent and minimise delays to international aircraft arrival, clearance and movement in Australia.
SECURE
We recommend securing your aircraft while overseas to prevent contamination by pests, insects, and rodents.
CHECK
Prior to boarding, loading, and departing your last overseas airport, check the aircraft cabin and holds to confirm no pests, insects or rodents are on board.
TREAT
Treat any identified risks immediately by engaging a qualified pest controller prior to departure from your last overseas airport.
APPLY
Apply all mandatory aircraft disinsection treatments correctly and in accordance with the WHO aircraft disinsection methods and procedures 2nd edition.
Disinsection
The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) set global standards to prevent, control, and respond to the international spread of disease while minimising disruptions to international traffic and trade. The IHR defines disinsection as the procedure whereby health measures are taken to control or kill the insect vectors of human disease present in baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods, and postal parcels. The WHO's Aircraft Disinsection Methods and Procedures, 2nd Edition adopts the IHR and serves as a technical guide offering recommended methods and procedures for aircraft disinsection to assist countries in fulfilling their IHR obligations.
In Australia, the department administers disinsection requirements on behalf of the Department of Health. All international aircraft arriving in Australian territory are legally required to conduct disinsection to manage insect vectors that may be present in the aircraft or in goods.
The Schedule of Aircraft Disinsection Procedures for Flights into Australia and New Zealand V5.3 sets out aircraft disinsection requirements for Australia and New Zealand in accordance with WHO recommendations.
To comply with disinsection requirements, aircraft operators must use one of the cabin and hold application methods listed in Table 1.
| Category | Cabin and hold application method |
|---|---|
| Without passengers on board | Residual |
| Pre-embarkation | |
| With passengers on board | Pre-departure |
| On-arrival |
Aircraft operators must complete a certificate for all disinsection methods, except the on-arrival method, and retain exhausted aerosol cans for presentation to a biosecurity officer on arrival if requested.
Approval to perform residual or pre-embarkation methods is dependent on entering into formal arrangements with either the Department or Ministry of Primary Industries New Zealand (MPI NZ). The arrangements outline the aircraft operator’s governance requirements, disinsection application procedures and the verification, monitoring and testing of compliance with the arrangement.
If disinsection of your aircraft is not undertaken prior to arrival, you, your representative, or ground handling agent must lodge a pre-arrival report with the department, either by email or phone. Failure to do so is an offence and may result in the penalties outlined in Table 2, unless the aircraft movements are exempted per Table 3.
| Entity | Penalty | Legislation reference |
|---|---|---|
natural person
|
|
|
| body corporate | 5,000 penalty units |
|
| Impacted entity | Impacted movement | Legislation reference |
|---|---|---|
incoming aircraft
| actual or intended movement between Norfolk Island, the Torres Strait, and the remainder of Australian territory
|
|
Landing places in Australian territory
Under ss237(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015, all aircraft subject to biosecurity control must land at a landing place in Australian territory that is determined to be a first point of entry under s223 unless:
- permission has been granted under ss239(2) to land elsewhere, or
- a direction has been issued under s240 or s242, requiring the aircraft to land at a specific location.
Failure to comply with a direction is an offence that may result in the penalties outlined in Table 4.
You, your representative, or ground handling agent, are responsible for organising an aircraft’s landing place. More information can be found on the department’s website, including any extra permissions that may be required to land at some locations.
| Entity | Penalty | Legislation reference |
|---|---|---|
natural person
|
| Biosecurity Act 2015, section 243 |
| body corporate | 5,000 penalty units | Biosecurity Act 2015, section 243 |
Place determined to be a first point of entry in Australia
A first point of entry determination lists permissions for specified classes of aircraft or goods that may be landed at, or within, the landing place. Each first point of entry has the facilities to support an aircraft’s arrival and to manage the biosecurity risk to an acceptable level of protection.
Failure to comply with airport determinations, as instruments of the Act, is an offence that my result in the penalties outlined in Table 5. The determinations are located on the Federal Register of Legislation.
| Entity | Penalty | Legislation reference |
|---|---|---|
Natural Person
|
| Biosecurity Act 2015, section 237 |
| Body Corporate | 5,000 penalty units | Biosecurity Act 2015, section 237 |
Place not determined to be a first point of entry in Australia
Requests under s239 of the Act are to be in writing. A ‘Request to land aircraft or unload goods at a place not determined to be a point of entry in Australian territory’ form should be submitted via email to the department prior to the aircraft’s arrival.
You, your representative, or ground handling agent are required to seek permission to land at a place not determined to be a point of entry in Australia and comply with any conditions placed within an approval to land there.
Failure to do so is an offence that may result in the penalties outlined in Table 6.
| Entity | Penalty | Legislation reference |
|---|---|---|
natural person
|
| Biosecurity Act 2015, section 239 |
| body corporate | 5,000 penalty units | Biosecurity Act 2015, section 239 |
Pre-arrival reporting obligations for non-scheduled flights
The report must include the following information, without exception:
- information identifying the aircraft, for example:
- aircraft registration / tail number
- aircraft model / type
- the intended first landing place of the aircraft in Australian territory
- the estimated date and time of arrival of the aircraft
- the name and contact details of:
- the operator of the aircraft, and
- if the operator is not the owner of the aircraft— the owner of the aircraft
- details about any animals and/or plants in the aircraft cabin
When to submit the report
From 27 February 2026, you must lodge your mandatory non-scheduled pre-arrival report any time prior to commencing your flight from outside Australian territory.
As an aircraft operator of a non-scheduled flight, you, your representative, or ground handling agent may lodge your mandatory pre-arrival report any time prior to commencing your flight from outside Australian territory but no later than:
- as close to the top of descent as is operationally practicable before the aircraft is estimated to arrive at its first landing place in Australian territory
- 30 minutes before the aircraft is estimated to come to a standstill after arriving at its first landing place in Australian territory, or
- at the time specified by a biosecurity official.
How to submit the report
You, your representative or ground-handling agent can lodge the pre-arrival report by email or phone.
Download
Download the full document.
Biosecurity obligations for aircraft arriving in Australian territory
Updated November 2025
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