Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)
Help protect Australia from FMD. Follow biosecurity requirements when travelling or returning to Australia.
See our current traveller advice.
Harmful pests and diseases may arrive with travellers coming to Australia.
We screen incoming air and sea travellers and baggage to protect against this risk. We use X-ray machines, detector dogs, physical inspection and questioning.
If you are travelling to Australia, check what to do:
Be prepared. Know what you have to do before you travel to Australia.
Check what goods you can bring into Australia. Import conditions can change, so check each time - even if you travel regularly.
Read our traveller advice and alerts. We publish:
- alerts on pest and disease risks
- advice on how to manage those risks.
We also have useful tips for:
If you are bringing alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, electronic equipment and valuable items (including jewellery and currency), check with the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
Watch our videos to learn more about Australian biosecurity requirements.
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Your airline or cruise line will give you an Incoming Passenger Card before you arrive in Australia.
You must correctly fill out your Incoming Passenger Card and either:
- declare any risk goods including food, animal products and plant material (including wooden articles)
- dispose of any risk goods in the bins at the airport or sea port.
Declared risk goods will be inspected by a biosecurity officer. They may direct the goods for treatment, export or destruction. Goods that do not pose a biosecurity risk will be returned to you.
If you provide false or misleading information to a biosecurity officer or on your Incoming Passenger Card, or if you fail to answer questions about the goods or comply with directions given by a biosecurity officer, you may be:
- given an infringement notice of up to $6,260
- subject to civil penalty proceedings, and/or
- prosecuted for a criminal offence.
Your visa may also be cancelled, and if so, you will be refused entry into Australia and you will not be eligible to apply to come to Australia again for up to three years.
For faster border clearance:
- do not carry any fresh fruit or vegetables, plants, seeds, meat and animal or wood products
- ensure that your footwear, sporting and recreational equipment is dry and clean (i.e. free from soil, seeds and grass) — including golf clubs, bikes and prams.
Passport scanning
Travellers are advised that biosecurity officers at all international airports are using a smartphone app on a department issued mobile device to scan the passports of selected travellers passing through biosecurity intervention points. The app scans the machine-readable zone of the passport which contains the same information travellers are required to enter on their Incoming Passenger Card. Collecting this information digitally will allow the department to streamline the biosecurity clearance process in the future, and may have a minimal impact on travellers. Traveller processing through biosecurity channels at international airports has not changed. To assist with efficient biosecurity clearance, all travellers arriving in Australia should have their passports ready for scanning upon request.
For information about passport scanning, please email the department.
Biosecurity computer systems
The department advises that it is upgrading its biosecurity computer system at all international airports until mid-2024. During this time, biosecurity officers will be trained in the use of the new system and this may lead to a minimal impact on travellers.
Privacy notice
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is authorised to collect your personal information by the Biosecurity Act 2015. The department uses a mobile passport scanner device to collect some of this personal information. Personal information that is collected under or in accordance with the Biosecurity Act 2015 is also ‘protected information’ under that Act. The department collects your personal information for the purpose of assessing and managing biosecurity risk. Personal information collected by the department will only be used or disclosed as authorised under the Biosecurity Act 2015. The department may disclose your personal information to the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force. Your personal information will not usually be disclosed overseas.
In every case it will only be disclosed if authorised by the Biosecurity Act 2015.
To find out more, please refer to the department’s privacy policy.
Some states do not allow you to bring goods from other parts of Australia.
Check the requirements between states. Read travelling within Australia.
Each country sets their own requirements for goods you are allowed to bring.
We do not keep a record of other countries’ requirements.
Before you travel to another country from Australia, check what you can take. Contact the country’s consulate or embassy in your nearest capital city.