22 May 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Biosecurity fumigation stakeholders, including overseas government and industry treatment providers (both in Australia and pre-border), shipping, freight, and logistics companies, peak industry bodies and technology developers.
What has changed?
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) has released a discussion paper and survey to facilitate consultation on the development and use of new technologies for the monitoring of fumigations in the biosecurity industry.
We invite industry, business and the community to read the discussion paper and contribute suggestions for the future of biosecurity fumigation technology through the Have Your Say survey which is now live.
The survey will be open until 2 June 2025.
Background
One of the controls Australia relies on to manage biosecurity risk and facilitate international and domestic trade are effective biosecurity fumigations. The number of treatments required to manage biosecurity risk is increasing over time and there are challenges for all stakeholders in gaining assurance that the treatments are being done effectively.
The department wants to ensure that there are appropriate controls in place to address the risk of ineffective biosecurity fumigations. One of the controls the department applies is to ensure that critical treatment parameters, including fumigant concentration levels, are monitored throughout the treatment. The department reviews this information to ensure treatments are effectively managing the risks of target biosecurity pests.
To mitigate the risk of ineffective treatments, there is a pressing need for improved technology to proactively monitor, validate and report fumigation information. By improving the accuracy and transparency of fumigation data, we can reduce the risk of fraud, enhance compliance and ensure that biosecurity measures are consistently followed. Embracing innovative solutions such as technological advancements is essential to modernizing biosecurity fumigation practices and securing trade against biosecurity threats.
If you have any questions, please email offshoretreatments@aff.gov.au