26 August 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Importers of high-risk plant products, other-risk plant products, seeds for sowing and other stakeholders in the import and shipping industries – including vessel masters, freight forwarders, treatment providers, Biosecurity Industry Participants, importers, customs brokers, principal shipping agents, and any other operators in the sea container supply and logistics chain.
What has changed?
As previously communicated via Import Industry Advice Notice 115-2022, we are currently undertaking a pest risk analysis (PRA) for khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium). This update is to inform stakeholders that the analysis will now be conducted in two parts: Part 1 will focus on the plant product pathway, and Part 2 on the sea container pathway.
Importantly, this change does not alter the overall purpose or scope of the PRA. The objective remains to assess the biosecurity risks posed by khapra beetle, to evaluate the current emergency measures (also termed ‘urgent agents’), and to recommend effective and appropriate ongoing phytosanitary measures. These emergency measures will stay in place until the PRA is finalised, and any recommended ongoing phytosanitary measures are implemented.
We are adopting this 2-part approach because:
- The biosecurity risks and emergency measures differ between the two pathways
- Risk assessments, evaluation of existing emergency measures, and proposed ongoing risk management need to be conducted separately for each pathway
- Australia and the International Plant Protection Convention have several initiatives underway targeting sea container biosecurity risks, which will influence the analysis for that pathway.
This approach is expected to be more logical, efficient, and easier for stakeholders to review and provide feedback on.
We anticipate publishing a draft report for Part 1 in late 2025, followed by Part 2 in the first half of 2026. Each draft report will be released for a 60-day public consultation period.
Please note that the anticipated publication dates for the draft reports are indicative and may be subject to change.
Background information
Khapra beetle is not present in Australia but poses a significant threat to the country’s grain industry as a serious storage pest with potential impacts on international trade. It is ranked as Australia’s second highest National Priority Plant Pest and the highest for the grains industry. The beetle destroys grain quality, rendering it unfit for human consumption.
After observing an increase in khapra beetle interceptions during 2020, the department implemented emergency measures in September 2020 to reduce the risk of entry. The pest risk analysis was initiated to:
- assess the biosecurity risk of khapra beetle,
- evaluate the effectiveness of the emergency measures, and
- recommend ongoing phytosanitary measures that will manage the biosecurity risk to achieve the Appropriate Level of Protection for Australia.
Further information
For further information, see:
- Khapra beetle pest risk analysis
- Urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle
- Measures for plant products under the khapra beetle urgent actions
- Measures for sea containers under the khapra beetle urgent actions
For questions and information related to the Khapra beetle pest risk analysis please contact us at (02) 6272 5094 or email plantstakeholders@aff.gov.au