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  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Vessels, aircraft and military
  4. Vessels
  5. First points of entry and non-first points of entry
  6. First points of entry - seaport operator requirements

Sidebar first - Biosecurity

  • Biosecurity and trade
    • Biosecurity
      • Catalysing Australia’s Biosecurity
      • Biosecurity 2030 Roadmap
      • Sustainable biosecurity funding
        • Proposed Biosecurity Protection Levy
      • Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper-Biosecurity Surveillance and Analysis
        • Improving biosecurity surveillance and analysis
        • Forum Communique-July 2017
        • Australian Livestock Industry Health Studies
      • Biosecurity Matters
        • Gardening
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        • Domestic travel
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        • Boat owner
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      • Committees and partnerships
        • Sustainable Biosecurity Funding Advisory Panel
        • Industry Consultative committees
        • International Cargo Cooperative Biosecurity Arrangement
        • Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme
        • National Biosecurity Committee
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            • Previous forums
          • National Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness Expert Group
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            • National Surveillance and Diagnostics Framework
            • National Transition Program Policy Framework
            • National Biosecurity Engagement and Communication Framework
            • National Framework for the Management of Established Pests and Diseases of National Significance
          • National Biosecurity Response Team Arrangements 2017-2019
          • National Environment and Community Biosecurity Research, Development and Extension Strategy 2021-26
          • National RD&E Priorities for Invasive Plants and Animals 2016-2020
        • Northern Australia Biosecurity Framework
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        • National Biosecurity Statement
          • Communication and Engagement Strategy
      • Aircraft, vessels and military
        • Aircraft
          • Aircraft disinsection
            • Aircraft Disinsection Information (ADI) and Import Relationship and Access Manager (iRAM)
            • Aircraft Disinsection Information (ADI) and Import Relationship and Access Manager (iRAM) support
            • Aircraft disinsection procedures for flights into Australia and New Zealand
          • Aircraft application form
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          • Landing places determined as first points of entry for aircraft
        • Vessels
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          • Cruise vessels
          • Disembarking crew
          • First points of entry – information for arriving vessels and goods
          • First points of entry and non-first points of entry
            • Alternative biosecurity entry point application form
            • First points of entry - seaport operator requirements
          • Human health
          • Marine pest biosecurity
            • Ballast Water
              • Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements
              • Ballast Water Authorisation
            • Biofouling in Australia
              • Australian biofouling requirements
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              • International relations
              • Biofouling resources
              • Non-commercial vessel biofouling
          • Maritime and Aircraft Reporting System (MARS)
            • MARS communications and training materials
            • MARS offline forms
          • Non-commercial vessels
            • Accredited suppliers list for termite detection services
            • Importing vessels with timber components frequently asked questions
            • Importing vessels with timber components
          • Offshore installations
            • Offshore Installations Biosecurity Guide
          • Plants and insects
            • Burnt pine longicorn beetle - person in charge questionnaire and statement
          • Pratique
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        • Military
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          • Transhipped ship’s stores lodgement cover sheet
      • Biosecurity in Australia
        • Biosecurity Advanced Analytics Capability
        • Detector dogs
        • Innovative Biosecurity 3D X-ray Project
        • Modernising Australia’s approach to managing established pests and diseases of national significance: Discussion paper
        • Northern biosecurity
          • Aquatic pest biosecurity community awareness
          • Biosecurity-it’s everyone’s business virtual reality experience
          • Country Handle with Care - Costa and dirtgirl Tackle Biosecurity
          • Frontline-northern biosecurity’s community song
          • Avian influenza awareness – Keep a TopWatch!
          • Lumpy skin disease awareness – Keep a TopWatch!
          • Rabies Awareness - Keep a Top Watch!
          • Report a pest, weed or disease in Northern Australia
          • You can be a Biosecurity Champion too!
            • Developing industry and supporting local growers
        • Indigenous Ranger Biosecurity Program
          • Northern Australia Indigenous Biosecurity Ranger Forum
          • Northern Australia Indigenous Rangers Biosecurity Round Table
          • Biosecurity Business Grants Program
          • Ranger Capability Building Grants Program
          • Frontline Ranger Newsletter
        • Northern Australia Biosecurity Strategy 2030
          • The Northern Australia People Capacity and Response Network (NAPCaRN)
        • Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS)
          • Co-operative biosecurity in northern Australia
          • Aircraft arriving on the Australian mainland from Torres Strait
          • NAQS target pests, diseases and weeds
          • Moving goods to, from and within Torres Strait
          • Significant events in the history of NAQs
            • Celebrating 30 years of co-operative biosecurity in northern Australia
            • Commemorating 25 years of NAQS
          • Shipping and yachting in the Torres Strait
          • Map of NAQS zones
        • Public awareness and education
          • Australian biosecurity webinar series
          • Detect and Protect podcast
            • Series 1 - How our biosecurity system works
            • Series 2 – Detector dogs
          • Australian Biosecurity Awards
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          • Pacific engagement
            • Exporting to Australia from the Pacific
            • Working together with our Pacific neighbours
            • Australia's biosecurity system
            • Inside the department
              • Meet the team
            • Your local authority
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            • Activities for kids
            • Teacher resources on biosecurity
          • Visual resources
        • Reform of the biosecurity system
          • Biosecurity Training Centre
          • Industry Partnerships and Engagement
        • Reports and publications
          • 2008-12 Imported cargo processing, a DAFF time release study
          • Biosecurity Matters Newsletter
          • Australian Quarantine a shared responsibility: The Nairn report
            • Australian Quarantine a shared responsibility: The Government response
        • Pest and disease surveillance at Australia’s borders
        • Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area Biosecurity Strategy
      • Biosecurity research and innovation
        • Biosecurity Innovation Program
        • How we work with you
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        • Biosecurity Innovation Exchange 2018
      • Import risk analyses
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          • Roles and responsibilities in an import risk analysis
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        • Plant risk analyses
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            • Draft report fact sheet
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            • Draft report
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            • Final report
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        • Biological control agents
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          • Host test lists
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          • Development of the Weed Risk Assessment system
          • Weed risk assessments frequently asked questions
          • Reasons for the Weed Risk Assessment system
          • The Weed Risk Assessment process
            • Weed Risk Assessment system
        • Biosecurity Import Risk Analysis guidelines
        • Centre of excellence for biosecurity risk analysis
        • Biosecurity advices
        • Register as a stakeholder
      • Emergency preparedness and outbreak response
        • Exercises
          • Exercise Volare (2024)
        • Maintaining good animal welfare outcomes in an emergency animal disease outbreak
        • National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement review
          • NBC approach to the NEBRA five year review recommendations
        • Horse Disease Response Levy review
        • Wildlife Exotic Disease Preparedness Program
          • Feral animals as hosts of exotic disease: Identification of potential disease contact between feral animals and sites of exotic disease incursion
          • Avian Influenza Viruses in Migratory Shorebirds and Nomadic Water Fowl in South Australia
          • Avian Migration and Movement pathogens in the Australo-Papuan context
          • AWHN OIE Report 2004
          • AWHN OIE Report 2005
          • Destroy and Let Lie Disposal Project
          • Development and Validation - Newcastle Disease
          • Field Surveillance and Monitoring - Leishmania in the Northern Territory
          • Final report: preparing Australia by preparing Papua New Guinea
          • GIS Mapping Software in National Surveillance Database
          • Identifying and Mapping Hendra virus
          • Identifying and Mapping Hendra Virus (2)
          • Identifying and Mapping Hendra Virus Strain Diversity (Stage 1)
          • Improving the Relevance and Efficiency of Wild Bird Surveillance for AI
          • Reservoirs of Infection: The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Emerging Pathogen
          • Summary Report - Contraceptives Pigs
          • Summary Report - pigs disease spread
      • Animal
      • Plant
      • Pests, diseases and weeds
      • Environmental biosecurity
        • Managing Environmental Biosecurity
          • How we engage
          • First Nations
          • Research and innovation
        • How the system works
        • Exotic environmental pests
          • The Environmental Biosecurity Project Fund
          • Priority list of exotic pests, weeds and diseases
            • Technical information about the Exotic Environmental Pest List
            • Higher-risk exotic environmental pests
      • Biosecurity questions and answers
      • Legislation
        • List of Biosecurity Preparedness Plans
        • List of Goods That May Carry Hitchhiker Pests
        • The Biosecurity Act 2015
          • Updates to information sharing provisions
          • Changes to import requirements
          • Introduction to the Biosecurity Act Interactive Learning tool
          • Reviewable decisions
        • Reportable biosecurity incidents
          • Reportable biosecurity incidents form
        • Compliance and enforcement
          • Biosecurity Compliance Plan 2016-17
          • Biosecurity Compliance Statement
          • Compliance and enforcement tools
          • Redline - report a biosecurity breach
          • Export and import laws and the role of the department
          • Infringement Notice Scheme
            • Infringement notices at the airport
            • Other infringement notices
      • Fees and charges
      • Forms
      • Coronavirus
        • Food and agriculture
        • Exports
        • Imports
        • Domestic animals

First points of entry - seaport operator requirements

Cruise vessel standard – additional human health requirements

There are now additional human health requirements for seaport operators of locations where cruise passengers disembark. Find out more.

First points of entry (FPOE) are locations where vessels and goods that are subject to biosecurity control are permitted to arrive. To be an FPOE, ports must meet certain requirements.

When the Biosecurity Act 2015 commenced, existing ports were issued temporary determinations. This allowed them to continue to operate as FPOE while working toward compliance with new biosecurity regulatory requirements. These determinations expired on 15 June 2019. Ongoing determinations were made for ports if their operators could show how they complied with all FPOE regulatory requirements.

We granted extensions to temporary determinations to certain ports that were unable to meet regulatory requirements within this timeframe. We are engaging with relevant operators at these ports. They will receive ongoing determinations when they can comply with the regulatory requirements.

Find the list of FPOE and their determinations.

Find information for vessels arriving at FPOE or non-first points of entry.

FPOE Determinations are made for a geographical area or place. Because many entities operate within a port location, managing biosecurity risk is a shared responsibility.

Before your port can be determined as an FPOE, we must first assess its general eligibility based on the biosecurity risks posed by your operations.

Once we have determined that the risks can be acceptably managed, we assess all operators facilitating international arrivals at the port to ensure they comply with regulatory standards.

If you want your port to be an FPOE, email biosecurityfirstpoints@aff.gov.au.

Before your port can be determined as an FPOE, it must also meet the requirements in section 58 of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016. If you operate at a port, the FPOE Biosecurity Standards set out what you need to do to meet these regulatory requirements.

All entities operating at an FPOE are responsible for meeting the standards relevant to their part of the port’s operations. These entities include:

  • port authorities
  • third-party operators leasing berth space
  • stevedores
  • shipping lines
  • other logistical agents.

The standards ensure all operators facilitating international arrivals at the port have the procedures and infrastructure in place to:

  • manage the biosecurity risks associated with arriving vessels, travellers and cargo
  • respond to and report biosecurity or human biosecurity risks
  • manage biosecurity waste appropriately
  • support biosecurity officers to safely and effectively assess, inspect and treat goods under biosecurity control
  • manage the environment around the port of entry to reduce its receptivity to pests and diseases of biosecurity concern.

Download

DocumentPagesFile size
First point of entry biosecurity standards (ports) PDF 20924 KB
First point of entry biosecurity standards (ports) DOCX 20622 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

If you own or operate a biosecurity entry point (BEP) location for ‘passenger vessel baggage’ (i.e. a location where cruise passengers disembark), you are required to implement additional human health facilities and procedures to effectively manage the increased risk of COVID-19. This is also necessary for operators to maintain compliance with FPOE regulatory requirements.

The ‘Cruise vessel standard – additional human health facilities and procedures’ document sets out the additional human health requirements you need to meet. They include implementing a dedicated Health Room and procedures for managing the human biosecurity risk associated with ill travellers in the cruise terminal/facility. Note the document should be read in conjunction with the FPOE Biosecurity Standards.

If you have any questions regarding the new requirements, please email biosecurityfirstpoints@aff.gov.au.

Download

DocumentPagesFile size
Cruise vessel standard – additional human health facilities and procedures PDF 3221 KB
Cruise vessel standard – additional human health facilities and procedures DOCX 378 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

In order to demonstrate and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, FPOE operators must have documented procedures in place for identifying, reporting and managing biosecurity risks associated with their operations.

Our template helps you meet this obligation. The template contains the minimum requirements of a biosecurity risk response procedure. You can use it to develop a procedure specific to your site and operations.

Download

DocumentPagesFile size
Biosecurity risk response procedure template (ports) DOCX 343 KB

If you have difficulty accessing the template or have questions regarding its use please email the department at biosecurityfirstpoints@aff.gov.au.

Under Biosecurity Regulation 58(4)(a)&(b), all staff who are involved with facilitating international arrivals must be aware of the biosecurity risks posed by their operations and know how to report them.

Our biosecurity awareness package helps FPOE operators meet these obligations. The package provides information about common and emerging biosecurity risks that you may see in a port environment. It also describes how you can work with us to minimise the risk of exotic pests and diseases entering Australia.

All staff working with international arrivals at first points of entry must complete the awareness package to achieve compliance with regulatory requirements. 

Seaports FPOE biosecurity awareness eLearning
Launch Seaports FPOE biosecurity awareness eLearning

Port authorities and FPOE operators are legally required to inform us of material changes to their operations, facilities or processes. Examples include:

  • a change to the availability or condition of relevant facilities or infrastructure at the port (such as a container stand or wash bay)
  • the addition of new berths or operators within the port environment
  • a significant increase in cruise traveller numbers
  • a change to operations (such as commencing import of goods or vessels with specified standards).

Notify us of these changes by emailing biosecurityfirstpoints@aff.gov.au.

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Page last updated: 08 May 2024

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.

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