We administer 2 sets of legislative requirements for imported food. These requirements:
- protect Australia against biosecurity risks, under the Biosecurity Act 2015
- manage imported food safety risks, as set out in the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
All imported food must meet biosecurity import conditions to be allowed into the country.
We monitor imported food as part of the national food regulatory system. Find out more about Australia’s food regulatory system.
Biosecurity laws
We regulate products imported into Australia. This helps protect Australia’s unique environment from unwanted pests and diseases.
Some imported products are subject to biosecurity import conditions. Some products are not permitted entry. Other products are only allowed into Australia if they meet import conditions that mitigate their biosecurity risk. This includes applying for an import permit.
You can use the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) to determine whether the food you want to import into Australia:
- is allowed
- is subject to import conditions
- requires supporting documentation
- requires treatment
- needs an import permit.
You must comply with our biosecurity import conditions when importing into Australia.
Imported food laws
Our imported food laws include:
- Imported Food Control Act 1992
- Imported Food Control Order 2019
- Imported Food Control Regulations 2019.
This legislation establishes our Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS). It also sets out the compliance requirements for imported food.
Through our scheme, we inspect imported food to check it:
- meets Australian requirements for public health and safety
- complies with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code
- complies with the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016.
Find out more about the inspection of imported food under the IFIS.
Guidelines for overseas disclosure of information
Australia has signed on to international treaties to protect human health. We share information with our international partners when there is a risk posed by an imported food.
We may disclose imported food information to a foreign government entity. We only do this when we are satisfied it is necessary to assist the government entity perform any of its functions, duties or powers related to a food safety risk.
These guidelines set out what we must consider when we make this decision. They are consistent with the privacy protections in the Privacy Act 1988.
Download
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
Guidelines for overseas disclosure of information PDF | 6 | 516 KB |
Guidelines for overseas disclosure of information DOCX | 6 | 685 KB |
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