27 August 2026
We are delivering the pest risk analysis (PRA) for khapra beetle in two parts. Part 1 focuses on the plant product pathways and Part 2 will focus on the sea container pathways. This Biosecurity Advice notifies stakeholders of the release of the final pest risk analysis for khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) — Part 1.
The final report recommends ongoing risk management measures for imported plant products to manage biosecurity risks associated with khapra beetle and achieve Australia's appropriate level of protection (ALOP). These measures are based on the khapra beetle status of the exporting country, the risk category of the commodity, the mode of arrival and the intended use of the goods.
The current emergency measures will remain in place until updated import conditions are finalised and published on BICON.
The final report takes into account comments received from stakeholders on the draft report.
We announced the commencement of this pest risk analysis on 7 July 2022 (via Biosecurity Advice 2022-P07) and released the draft report for public consultation on 27 November 2025 (Biosecurity Advice 2025-398). Comments from stakeholders on the draft report were taken into consideration in preparing the final report. The final report incorporates changes made in response to stakeholder feedback and further scientific review.
Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is the number one pest of concern for the Australian grain industry and is Australia’s second highest National Priority Plant Pest. Khapra beetle is one of the world's most destructive pests of stored grain and other dried plant products and could have significant economic impacts if it became established in Australia.
Australia currently has emergency measures (also known as ‘urgent actions’) in place to reduce the risk of khapra beetle entering the country.
We initiated the PRA to:
- assess the biosecurity risk of khapra beetle
- evaluate the effectiveness of the current emergency measures
- recommend ongoing measures that will manage the biosecurity risks to achieve Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP).
This final report presents a pest risk assessment for Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) associated with imported plant product pathways into Australia. The pest risk assessment concludes that the risk of this pest on these pathways does not achieve Australia’s ALOP and therefore ongoing risk management measures are required.
The final report evaluates the effectiveness of current emergency measures. It recommends that these measures and the 4 factors used as the bases to determine them are appropriate and should remain in place. The 4 factors are the khapra beetle status of the exporting country, the risk category of the commodity, the mode of arrival and the intended use of the goods.
The final report recommends ongoing risk management measures that include maintaining the existing 7 emergency measures and introducing one additional measure for plant products imported for research purposes. The recommended measure for plant products imported for research purposes includes 3 options: use in biosecurity containment, pre-export inspection and phytosanitary certification, or an import permit.
The final report also recommends some enhancements to the emergency measures to better manage the risks. These include:
- revised phytosanitary certification requirements for treated consignments, including confirmation that following the treatment, representative samples have been inspected and found free from all live insects, including Trogoderma species
- a requirement for offshore treatment providers to be registered and approved under an Australian pre-border treatment provider scheme (AFAS or AusTreat) to strengthen assurance and compliance arrangements.
The emergency measures will remain in place until import conditions are finalised and published on BICON.
We invite stakeholders to contribute scientific information relevant to this risk analysis at any time by emailing plantstakeholders@aff.gov.au.
We encourage stakeholders interested in receiving information and updates on biosecurity risk analyses to subscribe via our online subscription service. By subscribing to ‘Biosecurity Risk Analysis Plant’, you will receive Biosecurity Advices and other notifications relating to plant biosecurity policy, including this risk analysis.
Dr Peter Finnin
First Assistant Secretary
Biosecurity Plant and Science Services Division
Telephone: 1800 900 090 (when prompted select option 1, then option 1)
Email: imports@aff.gov.au