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Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Import
  4. Before you import goods
  5. Preparing for import
  6. Treating cargo outside Australia

Sidebar first - Import

  • Preparing for import
    • Treating cargo outside Australia
      • Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme
      • AusTreat
      • Ethylene Oxide Offshore Treatment Providers Scheme
        • Pre-Shipment Treatment Import Certificate
      • Offshore Irradiation Treatment Providers Scheme
      • Pre-Border Biosecurity Treatment Providers
    • Sea container hygiene system
    • Specifications for sea freight container inspection stands
    • Cargo containers: biosecurity aspects and procedures

Treating cargo outside Australia

Pre-border biosecurity

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s approach to biosecurity incorporates a variety of strategies and initiatives aimed at addressing biosecurity risks.

Biosecurity measures have been established to prevent the arrival and establishment of exotic pests and disease. These measures include requiring biosecurity treatments to be performed on consignments, or cleaning of sea containers prior to export to Australia.

Before you import goods to Australia, it is important that you understand your responsibilities as an importer and the import conditions that may apply to your goods. Complying with these requirements can reduce costly delays and help keep biosecurity risks offshore.

When planning to import goods into Australia, you need to check the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

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Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON)

Pre-border biosecurity treatment assurance

To ensure pre-border biosecurity treatments effectively manage biosecurity risk before it reaches our shores, we have established a number of pre-border biosecurity treatment assurance schemes. These schemes set out the requirements for treatment providers to become registered, defines ongoing responsibilities and compliance management requirements.

Further information on our pre-border schemes can be found below:

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AusTreat - Pre-border biosecurity treatment provider scheme

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Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme (AFAS)

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Offshore Irradiation Treatment Providers Scheme

Icon of a beetle inside a circle with a line through it

Ethylene Oxide Offshore Treatment Providers Scheme

Icon of a container on a hook

Sea Container Hygiene System

Pre-border Biosecurity Treatment Providers

Pre-border biosecurity treatment providers play an important role in managing biosecurity risks. In some instances, as part of the biosecurity import condition, a pre-border biosecurity treatment is required to be conducted by a treatment provider from our List of Treatment Providers.

Lists of registered and unregistered treatment providers have been established to assist importers in meeting biosecurity import conditions here:

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Pre-border Biosecurity Treatment Providers

Useful links

Further information on treatment methodologies and guidance on conducting  heat, methyl bromide or sulfuryl fluoride treatments and pest-specific seasonal measures can be found below:

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Methodologies and documents for biosecurity treatments

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Guidance for conducting BMSB Treatments

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Seasonal measures for Brown marmorated stink bug

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Urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle

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Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON)

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Entity Identifier (AEI)

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

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Page last updated: 11 April 2025

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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