19 August 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Importers and brokers of CBIS eligible:
- Retail ready powdered plant products <=500g (0904.22.00.05, 0904.22.00.04, 0910.12.00.12, 0910.30.00.03)
- Frozen fruit and vegetable products (0710, 0714, 0811, 0814)
What has changed?
The department is incorporating 2 new plant pathways onto the Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS). The pathways and intervention points are as follows:
- Frozen fruit and vegetables – Documentation intervention
- Retail ready plant products – Documentation intervention.
These changes are scheduled to take effect in late August 2025.
The CBIS program rewards importers who demonstrate consistent compliance with Australia’s biosecurity requirements with a risk-based intervention approach (applied at the line level). Compliant entities (importers/ suppliers) are able to benefit from smoother clearance processes at the border and reduced regulatory costs.
To qualify for risk-based intervention under the CBIS, importers will need to:
- import an eligible product under an appropriate tariff code
- lodge the entry in line mode
- meet the import conditions for their goods
- meet the requirements for repeated compliance
To support these changes, we have developed some new profile questions for powdered plant products and frozen fruit and vegetables as follows:
Powdered plant products in retail ready packaging (<=500grams)
Biosecurity question text: Are the goods in retail ready packaging up to or less than 500grams, imported for human consumption end use?
Tariff codes in scope: 0904.22.00.04, 0904.22.00.05, 0910.12.00.12 and 0910.30.00.03
Note: Powdered garlic will not be included as part of this expansion and will be incorporated at a later date.
Frozen fruit and vegetables
Biosecurity question text: Are the goods permitted hard frozen (-18°C or below maintained over 7 consecutive days) fruit or vegetables (excluding nuts, yams, banana fruit, banana leaves or herbs), intended for human consumption end use, and accompanied by appropriate documentation to verify the hard freezing process?
And
Biosecurity question text: Have the goods been prepared using one of the following processing methods: Dehydration, Evaporation, Freeze-Drying, Or been preserved?
Tariff codes in scope: 710, 714, 811, 814.
What do I need to do?
The change will require importers and brokers to accurately answer one or more profile questions, provide a relevant tariff code, and lodge complete and accurate documents in COLS in order to qualify for CBIS and be offered the benefits that the program has to offer.
Lodging incomplete documents may result in the importer receiving a document failure result, which will impact the CBIS compliance counter. It may also result in clearance delays and additional fees where the department is required to re-assess information or gather further information to complete an assessment. We would strongly encourage you to submit a complete document package and clearly label your products for this reason.
Note: Goods that qualify for CBIS may still be required to meet other biosecurity and imported food requirements. All imported food must meet the food safety requirements under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 monitored through the Imported Food Inspection Scheme. Check the imported food requirements for your food type.
Further information
Subscribe to the relevant BICON case or visit the CBIS webpage.
If you have any enquiries relating to these changes, please contact the CBIS program CBIS@aff.gov.au or telephone 1800 900 090.
The department also announces changes on the CBIS webpage.