30 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

Approved arrangements operators, customs brokers, importers, manned depots, and freight forwarders who will be required to book and manage requests for import inspections using the Biosecurity Portal during this planned outage.

Approved arrangements operators who will be required to view and/or update details of their Approved Arrangement via the Approve Arrangement Management Product (AAMP).

27 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) website.

Information

Restored time:

As of: 15:00 Friday 27 June 2025 (AEST).

Detail:

The unplanned service disruption to the BICON website has been resolved.

Clients should not experience any further service degradation to the BICON website as a result of this issue and now access all features and services, including making payments on BICON, as usual.

27 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All importers and customs brokers who lodge imported cargo documentation to the department for biosecurity assessment through the Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS).

27 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All vessel owners, operators, masters and shipping agents who represent international commercial vessels, including cruise vessels preparing for arrival into Australian territory.

What has changed?

In December 2023, an Import Industry Advice Notice was published regarding changes to reporting disembarking crew from commercial vessels, including cruise vessels.

This information is re-published to clarify Australian biosecurity reporting requirements.

27 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

Stakeholders including importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders and biosecurity industry participants (approved arrangement and compliance agreement holders) vessel masters and shipping agents.

What has changed?

In 2025, the department will apply indexation to biosecurity and imported food regulatory charges.

All legislated regulatory charges that are subject to an indexation provision will increase by 2.4% on 1 July 2025.

This report lists food that has recently failed under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS). 

Data for the fails in this report and previous reports are available from this link - Imported Food Inspection Scheme - monthly failing food reports - Dataset - data.gov.au

26 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

Stakeholders in the import and shipping industries—including vessel masters, freight forwarders, offshore treatment providers, Biosecurity Industry Participants, importers, customs brokers, principal agents and master consolidators.

What has changed?

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) has updated the treatment certification requirements for goods treated in China following the approval of treatment providers based in China onto the List of treatment providers.

Large producers of Agaricus mushrooms may apply to use the alternative payment method.

If your application is approved, you will be able to pay the levy in equal monthly instalments over the year based on the maximum amount of mushroom spawns you are required to pay levy on in a financial year - which is 370,000 kilograms.

How to apply

To apply, you must reasonably believe that the total amount of mushroom spawn you will produce and purchase in the next financial year will be 370,000 kilograms or more.

26 June 2025

Who does this notice affect?

Approved arrangement operators attempting to access online reports of entries referred to the department for biosecurity assessment, or management under a class 19 Approved Arrangement, via the Industry Reporting.

Information

Start time:

As of: 00:01 Thursday 26th of June 2025 (AEST).

Options for the Development of National Standards and Guidelines for Animal Welfare

The AWTG are continuing discussions on the staged approach to improvements to the standards development process.

Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Livestock at Processing Facilities and Establishments

AWTG 25-03 noted an update from Queensland that jurisdictions continue to work collaboratively on the third draft of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Livestock at Processing Facilities and Establishments.