12 May 2025
Who does this notice affect?
This notice affects importers of plant products for human consumption (e.g. rice, beans, lentils, dried chilli, cumin and coriander seed), freight forwarders, biosecurity industry participants and accredited persons operating under the department’s approved arrangement class 19.
What is changing?
As advised in IIAN 111-2025, on 28 May 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) will implement three key changes to our requirements for pre-border khapra beetle treatments and phytosanitary certification:
- Revised wording for gas permeable packaging additional declarations.
- New NPPO supervision requirement and additional declaration for treatments undertaken by a provider that is listed as suspended, under review, withdrawn or unacceptable on our lists of registered and unregistered treatment providers.
- Removal of fourth concentration sampling tube for container fumigation treatments.
These changes are further detailed in the Import Industry Advice Notice 111-2025: Khapra beetle measures: Upcoming changes to conditions for offshore treatments and certification, and the factsheet.
Commencement date
These revised requirements will come into effect on 28 May 2025. They will apply only to consignments where the phytosanitary certificate is issued on or after 28 May 2025, regardless of the date the consignment arrived in Australia.
For any phytosanitary certification issued before 28 May 2025, the current measures will continue to apply.
A transitional period of at least 10 weeks will be provided. During this time, the department will identify consignments that do not meet the new requirements and work with the importer to support compliance for future consignments.
The transitional period completion date will be shared in a future notification and published in BICON.
Import permits
Affected import permits will be varied on 28 May 2025 to reflect the new conditions.
We have contacted affected import permit holders to advise them of these changes and to provide further information about the variation.
Permit holders will not be charged a fee for the changes to current import permits.
If you are applying for a new or renewed import permit for high-risk plant products, please note the department will delay issuing the permit until after 28 May 2025 to ensure the new conditions are included. If you require a permit to be issued before 28 May for urgent imports, please contact the department to discuss your circumstances using the contact details below.
Online information sessions
We are holding two online information sessions in the upcoming week to outline the key changes, their impact on your import supply chains, and the actions you need to take to stay compliant.
Please make sure to register for Session 2 on 20 May 2025 if you are involved in the import or clearance of plant products such as rice, beans, lentils, dried chilli, cumin and coriander seed.
To register, follow instructions in IIAN 130-2025: Virtual information sessions for upcoming changes to khapra beetle treatments for imports to Australia.
Further information
All affected import conditions will be updated on BICON upon implementation on 28 May 2025.
Stay up-to-date on the implementation of these conditions by subscribing to receive Import Industry Advice Notices and BICON alerts.
Affected importers and class 19 accredited persons will receive more detail on the impact of these changes in due course.
Contact Plant Import Operations via email at imports@aff.gov.au (please title the subject line of the email 'Plant T2 - Khapra urgent actions - Phytosanitary updates') or by phone on 1800 900 090.