17 June 2026
Who does this notice affect?
All shipping agents or operators of commercial maritime conveyances who will be required to report pre-arrival information.
All non-commercial vessel owners or vessel operators arriving in Australian territory to visit or stay.
All shipping agents who represent international non-commercial vessels.
What has changed?
For commercial vessels
The Australian government’s Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has provided updated guidance on Listed Human Disease signs and symptoms. Corresponding changes have been made to the Human Health section of the MARS Pre-Arrival Report (PAR), the Human Health Update (HHU) and the Additional Health Questions form (sent to the vessel when human health risks are reported in the PAR or HHU).
Additionally, the offline forms have had their data lists updated to the latest information in MARS. The lists are for:
- Shipping agents
- Australian ports
- International ports
- Countries
- Ballast Water Management Systems
These updates will be available from 18 June 2026.
Please ensure the officer responsible for completing the forms has the latest versions of the offline forms downloaded from the department’s website, and is informed and understands the revised questions.
For non-commercial vessels
The department has added new questions relating to biofouling to the non-commercial vessel pre-arrival report and to the inspection conducted on board the vessel by the department’s biosecurity officers. The responses will enable the department to better manage the biosecurity risks associated with biofouling on non-commercial vessels.
Biosecurity officers will continue to assess biosecurity risk associated with biofouling on arrival and take necessary actions to manage unacceptable biosecurity risks.
These updates will be available from 18 June 2026.
What do you need to do?
Continue to complete vessel reporting directly into the MARS portal as usual. The changes will be automatic and there is nothing more you need to do other than answer each of the questions.
Vessel masters and shipping agents for commercial vessels should download the revised offline forms to avoid errors and delays when submitting information from the offline forms into MARS.
Where can you find the forms?
The updated offline forms are available on the department’s webpage: MARS offline forms.
Further information
Contact the department’s National Maritime Centre (NMC) by email or phone: 1300 004 605 (in Australia) or +61 8 8201 6185 (outside Australia).