15 April 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Importers, Customs brokers and Accredited persons operating under approved arrangement class 19.2.
What has changed?
From 16 April 2025, grain and horticulture phytosanitary certificates from the United States of America (USA) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will be received as electronic phytosanitary certificates (ePhyto). This is an expansion for ePhyto in addition to the current paperless exchange we have for New Zealand.
This process will apply to Full Import Declarations (FID) and Long Form Self-Assessed Clearance (SCL) lodgements involving grain and horticulture products from these countries only.
From this date the ePhyto will be issued by USA and ROK, and the department will use the ePhyto to clear consignments for these products.
This process will be applied in the same manner as the existing paperless exchange for sanitary and phytosanitary certification from New Zealand.
Industry responsibilities and instruction
- Importers and customs brokers must provide ePhyto details for relevant import declarations. The department assesses the ePhyto via the Agricultural Import Management System (AIMS) entry or the eCertificate import application.
- Importers and customs brokers will be provided with relevant ePhyto numbers from exporters, along with other trade documentation.
- If you have provided your ePhyto information into the import declaration correctly, you do not need to submit a paper certificate. The ePhyto will be used for import clearance purposes.
- Accredited persons operating under approved arrangement class 19.2 will be able to view electronic government certificates in the External Verification for eCertificates (EVE) system, which is accessed through the Biosecurity Portal.
Current List of eCert Imports paperless exchanges as of 16 April 2025
| Country | Government certificate type | AQIS document type | Document number format | Status of exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Korea | Phytosanitary | KRPHYTO | 12-123456789 | Paperless |
| United States of America | Phytosanitary | USPHYTO | F-C-12345-12345678-1-N | Paperless |
| New Zealand | Phytosanitary | NZPHYTO | NZL2019/ABCD/123456 | Paperless |
| New Zealand | Sanitary | NZSANITARY | NZL2019/ABCD/987654 | Paperless |
Benefits of electronic phytosanitary certification
- electronic phytosanitary certification (ePhyto) modernises the way we trade and aligns with the global drive to adopt paperless phytosanitary trade via the IPPC ePhyto Hub.
- ePhytos are transferred securely between governments, reducing the opportunity for fraudulent certificates.
- ePhytos will provide assurance that goods comply with importing country requirements.
- ePhytos allows for a faster receival of documentation, which can provide faster response time for managing documentation.
Further information
Please contact 1800 900 090 if you have any questions regarding the above information.
For information on eCert and ePhyto for Australian Imports, please go to eCertificate (electronic certification) for imports.
Please refer to the External Verification for eCertificates (EVE) webpage for further information.
A help card on how access and use the EVE system is also available to class 19.2 accredited persons in Learnhub.