Import Conditions

Case: Empty Giant African snail shells Effective 05 Sep 2020 to 05 Dec 2020

1. A Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment import permit is not required.

2. Commercial administrative conditions
   Documents must be provided with each consignment which:

   1. identify the consignment (if non-personal) e.g. entry number
      

   2. identify all goods being imported as part of this consignment e.g. invoice or waybill or importer’s manifest
      

   3. describe the goods being imported (where not clear).
      

      e.g. 1: Product XRab = Purified protein derived from rabbits
      

      e.g. 2: Product AX = Synthetic antibiotic
      

      e.g. 3: Comte = Cheese.
      

3. Live giant African snails (GAS) are prohibited entry into Australian territory.

   GAS shells, for collections or any other use may be imported. Shells must be clean and free from snail residues and other contamination.

   All GAS shells must be inspected for the presence of live snails, snail residue or other contamination. If snail residue or other contamination is found the shells must be cleaned, dried and then either fumigated with methyl bromide at the GAS rate or gamma irradiated at the importer’s expense.

4. If contamination and/or infestation is found, the material will be treated by a Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment approved method, as applicable to the type of contamination.

5. Each consignment must be packed in clean and new packaging and must be free of live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal material (such as faeces), plant material (such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, bark) and other debris prior to arrival into Australian territory.

6. Under the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Regulation 2016 and Chapter 9, Part 2 of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016, fees are payable to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment for all services. Detail on how the department applies fees and levies may be found in the Charging guidelines.

7. In addition to the conditions for the goods being imported, non-commodity concerns must be assessed including container cleanliness, packaging and destination concerns, and may be subject to inspection and treatment on arrival. Please refer to the Non-Commodity Cargo Clearance BICON case for further information.

Warnings and Information Notices


You may require a wildlife trade permit and/or other approvals from the Wildlife Trade Regulation section. More information is available on the International wildlife trade webpage.