4 March 2026
Who does this notice affect?
Registered establishments and exporters of meat and meat products, and customs brokers.
What has changed?
The department is aware of the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the associated disruption to global air cargo routes, which has resulted in Australian consignments of chilled meat being returned to Australia, including consignments diverted mid flight. These returns are classified as distressed consignments and their highly perishable nature is acknowledged.
How is the department responding?
To mitigate commercial impacts and support timely clearance, the department is implementing an interim process to prioritise the inspection of returned chilled meat consignments.
A biosecurity import permit is required for returning Australian consignments of meat that do not have an intact Australian government seal. Importers and brokers should contact imports@aff.gov.au for advice regarding permit requirements.
Importers and brokers are also required to lodge an import declaration in the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) for all returned consignments so that appropriate biosecurity directions can be issued in the Agriculture Import Management System (AIMS). All consignments must be released from biosecurity control prior to movement to an export establishment.
Effective immediately, inspection booking agents and customs brokers are required to submit a Manual Request for Inspection (RFI) to the Client Contact Group (CCG) for returned chilled meat consignments. Requests must include the subject line:
‘Priority – Returned Chilled Meats’
The completed RFI forms must be emailed to the relevant regional email address listed on the RFI form.
This interim process enables coordinated biosecurity and food safety inspections, with prioritised resourcing to minimise delays and avoid double handling of returned export meat consignments.
Distressed consignment provisions will be applied to eligible returned product that has been released from biosecurity control to allow movement back to export establishments for rework. The purpose of these interim provisions is to enable expedited inspection of eligible consignments so they can move from an approved arrangement or cargo terminal operator (CTO) to the export establishment following inspection by a biosecurity officer.
All returned consignments, including those that departed Australia with an Australian government seal, must undergo a tailgate inspection at an approved arrangement or CTO to confirm seal integrity. This inspection is required to verify that the Australian government seal remains intact.
Returned consignments arriving without an intact Australian government seal must undergo inspection at an approved arrangement by a biosecurity officer and a food safety assessor. Once released from biosecurity control the goods may be returned to an export establishment for reworking.
Biosecurity and food safety risks will continue to be appropriately managed during this interim period.
Further information
For further information please phone 1800 900 090.