15 August 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) website to submit and/or pay for import permit applications.

Information

Start time: As of: 13:20 Friday 15 August 2025 (AEST).

The BICON website is currently experiencing an unplanned service disruption to financial functions. As a result, users may experience errors/failures when attempting to submit and/or make payments for import permit applications via BICON.

15 August 2025

Meeting Communiqué

Commonwealth, State, and Territory Agriculture Ministers met virtually on Friday, 15 August 2025. The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Julie Collins MP. The Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm also attended.

From August 2025, we will start to implement new risk management measures for import of dairy products for human consumption. This will include negotiation of new health certificates with trading partners.

The transition to new measures will take 12 months to complete.

We will negotiate with overseas government authorities to develop new health certification for dairy products, including cheese, permitted for import. These overseas government authorities along with health certificate details will be available soon.

14 August 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) website to submit and/or pay for import permit applications.

Information

Start time: As of 00:00 Thursday 14 August 2025 (AEST).

The BICON website is currently experiencing an unplanned service disruption to financial functions. As a result, users may experience errors/failures when attempting to submit and/or make payments for import permit applications via BICON.

14 August 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) website during this planned maintenance period.

Information

Due to scheduled infrastructure maintenance, users of the BICON website may experience several brief intermittent outages between the following service disruption windows:

Whilst Australia is a food secure nation, our food system is facing a range of challenges. To respond to these challenges, and ensure Australia remains a consistent provider of safe, quality and nutritious food, the Australian Government has committed $3.5 million to develop Feeding Australia: A National Food Security Strategy. The strategy will be developed with farmers and fishers, industry and the community.

The National Management Agreement for H5 HPAI in Wildlife (the H5 NMA) establishes a national arrangement for responding to incursions of H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) in wildlife, where eradication or containment of the disease is unlikely.

The H5 NMA was developed in response to the global spread of H5 HPAI and reflects the commitment of all Australian governments to strengthening response arrangements to manage the impacts of a potential H5 HPAI outbreak in Australia’s unique wildlife.

4 August 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?

Following identification of critical non-compliance, we have listed SGS Canada Inc (AEI: CA4003SB) as ‘suspended’ on the List of treatment providers.