Food, plant material and animal products that you bring or send to Australia may introduce harmful pests and diseases that could devastate our valuable agriculture and tourism industries, and unique environment. Before these goods are allowed into the country, they are assessed using X-ray, detector dogs and manual inspection.

If you are sending or bringing goods to Australia for a cultural or seasonal event, or returning from an event overseas with souvenirs, you will need to:

The risk management strategies for chemical and mined fertiliser are outlined below:

Level 1: Low risk consignment

The benefits for achieving the Level 1 standard are:

Chemical fertiliser is a product that results from a manufacturing process. It includes (but is not limited to):

• ammonium nitrate
• calcium nitrate
• potash
• potassium nitrate
• urea
• mono-ammonium phosphate
• di-ammonium phosphate.

Mined fertiliser is a natural, in-organic product mined from the earth itself. It includes (but is not limited to):

We are responsible for reducing the risk of the introduction of exotic pests or diseases that may affect our agricultural and horticultural industries, and our unique environment. This page provides information about importing fertiliser, to ensure that the risk of introducing an exotic pest or disease via this commodity is managed effectively.

What is fertiliser?

Fertiliser is defined as a growth enhancer, promotant or regulator that aids plant growth. Fertilisers imported into Australia can be grouped into three main groups:

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, December 2021

If you would like to import goods not covered in the Goods Determination, you must apply for an import permit. The permit must be granted before your goods leave the Australian mainland.

To apply for an import permit, you can access the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

If you are not already registered in BICON you will need to register.

Protecting Norfolk Island

Import conditions for fresh produce are in place to protect Norfolk Island’s unique biosecurity status.

Before you import goods to Norfolk Island, we need to make sure you can do this without risking that status.

The first thing we do is identify any potential biosecurity risks. After we do that, we establish the import conditions for your goods. This is so we can manage any risks to an acceptable level.

We do the biosecurity risk assessments guided by our:

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry manages requirements for the approved arrangement (AA) that an establishment must have in place to be export registered.

An AA is a documented food safety management system, which describes how an establishment manages food safety and traceability.

Your AA must document how your establishment will comply with: