29 September 2025
Who does this notice affect?
This notice applies to importers of plant, animal and biological goods and brokers who bring or import goods to the Australian mainland.
Importers are advised that the Biosecurity (Conditionally Non-prohibited Goods) Determination 2021 (the Goods Determination) made under subsection 174(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015 is being amended. This is to ensure that the conditions for bringing or importing specified goods into Australian territory provide the Appropriate Level of Protection (ALOP) for Australia, by managing biosecurity risks associated with those goods, while ensuring a reduced regulatory burden for importers of those goods, where appropriate.
Goods entering Australian territory can carry pests or diseases that may cause harm to the environment, or human, plant or animal health. To manage these biosecurity risks, the department sets import conditions to manage them to the ALOP for Australia.
The department regularly reviews risk management measures to address changes in biosecurity risks and departmental policy. These changes would assist in providing contemporary risk management measures. For some goods, the department is taking the opportunity to reduce regulatory burden on importers by removing the need for an import permit.
What may be changing?
Clarification of commodities that do not require an import permit
Some goods can only be brought into Australian territory with an import permit. However, where it is safe to do so, importers are permitted to bring certain goods in without a permit if they meet alternative conditions for import. The proposed updated alternative conditions would continue to manage the biosecurity risk associated with these goods, continue to meet Australia’s ALOP, and reduce the level of regulatory burden for importers of these goods where appropriate.
It is proposed that the Goods Determination would be updated to clarify that the following commodities do not require an import permit when alternative conditions in the Goods Determination are met. These include:
- Balsawood and Plywood, veneer articles or sheets of veneer.
- Bamboo packaging where the goods are free from visible signs of live pests and are dried and not capable of propagation.
- Elephant dung paper products, if treated with 50kGy (kiloGray) of ionising radiation at certain treatment providers prior to import or at the border prior to release.
- Glue derived from animals, other than casein glue or gelatine glue, when commercially prepared and packaged and in quantities of not more than 1kg or 1L.
- Microalgae for human food, beverage, therapeutic or cosmetic use, when the microalgae species is listed on the approved microalgae list, and individual packages are 1kg or less, and are commercially manufactured and a are retail ready.
- Microalgae for human food, beverage, therapeutic or cosmetic use, when the goods contain no more than 5% microalgae, and are commercially manufactured and are retail ready.
- Potable water samples taken from conveyances (aircraft, ships etc.) whilst in Australia, for laboratory analysis, when in volumes of less than 1L.
- Sipunculans (unsegmented marine worms), where non-viable.
- Wood shavings of plant origin, other than goods intended for animal consumption or environmental purposes.
Further, the Goods Determination would be updated to clarify that the following goods do not require an import permit if they are free from visible signs of live pests:
- Bamboo products (other than bamboo packaging), barkcloth and fine mats made from bark, cane and rattan articles, dried willow articles, dried wisteria articles, and Sphagnum moss, if the goods are dried and not capable of propagation.
- Cork and cork products if these goods are processed cork or articles made of processed cork.
- Fencing, screening material and blinds derived from plants if the goods are:
- derived from a plant species that is listed in the list published on the department’s website, and the plant species is from a country that is listed in that list in relation to that plant species,
- dried and not capable of propagation, and
- are accompanied by evidence stating the botanical name of which the goods are derived from.
The Goods Determination would also be updated to clarify that an import permit is not required for processed nuts, raw nuts (with or without shell), vacuum sealed nuts (raw and shelled) and frozen chestnuts if the alternative conditions are met.
Lists
The department has introduced four new lists of approved ingredients for specified purposes. Whilst the Goods Determination would reference these lists and establish specific alternative conditions for each ingredient, the lists would be published on the department’s website.
These new lists would replace several existing tables of ingredients in the Goods Determination and include additional approved ingredients. They are:
- List of Approved Ingredients in Retail-ready Goods for Animal or Human Related Purposes: For goods that are retail-ready for animal or human related goods, including human consumption, human therapeutic use, animal consumption or use on animals.
- List of Approved Ingredients in Retail-ready Goods that are not for Direct Exposure to Livestock: For goods that are retail-ready and are not for consumption by livestock, in-vivo use in livestock or use on livestock.
- List of Approved Ingredients that are not for Direct Exposure to Livestock: For goods that are in bulk (not retail-ready) and are not for consumption by livestock, in vivo use in livestock, or use on livestock.
- List of Approved Ingredients for Animal-related Purposes: Goods that are in bulk (not retail ready) and are for animal consumption, in vivo use in animals, use on animals, or any other animal related purpose.
The current table of highly refined organic chemicals and substances would also be removed from the Goods Determination and instead be provided as a list published on the department’s website.
Other proposed changes
- Alternative conditions would be updated to reduce evidentiary requirements in practice for imported dairy products from New Zealand for personal use.
- The description for ‘eggshells or eggshell ornaments’ would be changed to specifically exclude eggshell powder and eggshell grits, as the origin of powders and grits cannot be easily identified.
- Preserved or fixed animal material no longer needs to be in sealed containers.
- Alternative conditions for freshwater crayfish would be updated to clarify that the goods require coagulation through the cooking process, and that the goods are accompanied by the relevant certificate.
- New alternative conditions would be established for Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) for personal consumption, requiring the goods to be cooked.
- New import conditions would be established for Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) for commercial import, requiring the goods to be either cooked, or frozen and accompanied by the relevant certification.
- Alternative conditions for marine molluscs (other than oysters and snails) for pet food and supplements, would be updated to allow irradiation outside of Australia at an approved premise.
- Alternative conditions for prawns or prawn products would be updated to require the goods to be frozen, be cooked as specified and be fit for human consumption.
- Clarification of alternative conditions requiring a cleanliness certificate for certain fish oil from the packer, supplier or exporter of the goods.
- Add a condition for pinecones that the goods are free from visible signs of pests.
- Clarify description of goods for meat and meat products from New Zealand.
What happens next?
Consultation on these proposed changes to the Goods Determination will be taking place between 29 September – 24 October 2025 via a Have Your Say public forum. Your feedback and submissions will be considered once this consultation period has concluded. The responses received will inform the next steps of policy development for the bringing in or importing goods into Australian territory.
Further information
Learn more about conditionally non-prohibited goods