Case Documentation Requirement
Search Import Questions Import Conditions Onshore Outcomes
Case: Feathers Effective 18 Mar 2020 to 07 Apr 2020
Documentation Requirements
The information below describes the requirements for documentation presented to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to support the risk assessment of imported goods.
Health certificate
A government certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country for an animal or part of an animal that is to be imported into Australian territory from a place outside Australian territory that has been signed by an official veterinarian from the exporting country. Official veterinarian has the same meaning as in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 24th edition, 2015, promulgated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) website.
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Form – The health certificate must be in a form approved by the Director of Biosecurity.
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Complete - All prescribed information required to be on a document must be present and complete. Additional prescribed information below:
The document must have been issued and dated within the last 6 months, unless otherwise specified
The document must contain the correct statement/s as required by the import conditions
The document must be specific to the product(s)
The document must be sealed with the stamp/seal of the issuing National Competent Authority.
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Legible - All prescribed information required to be on a document must be legible.
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Valid - Many documents, such as import permits, are valid for a certain period. Presented documents must comply with the validity requirements specified for that class of document.
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In English - All information required to be on a document must be in English. Exceptions to this rule include:
company letterheads that do not need to be translated into English but must be in English characters.
commercial, transport and government certification that are required to comply with international standard formats.
signatures and names of individuals.
Where a document cannot be provided in English, an affidavit will be accepted from either:
that country’s consulate in Australia.
the Australian embassy in the country of origin.
a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd.
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Free from erasures and alterations - All prescribed information on the document must be free from erasures and alterations unless endorsed by the issuer of the document. The only acceptable endorsement is a company stamp or seal signed by the company employee (including printed name) or a government stamp or seal signed by a government employee (including printed name) applied adjacent to the alteration.
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Multiple page documents - Multi page document must:
include individual reference numbers/numerical link on ALL pages of the document.
For example, commercial invoices (or similar) must contain the documents individual reference number or numerical link on each page of the document.contain an endorsement on the final page of the document, following the information that is being endorsed.
Note: where a document has noted attachments, the attachments can follow the endorsement.
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Endorsed - All documents must be endorsed by a representative of the organisation or corporation issuing the document. An endorsement must:
be an acceptable signature or stamp as defined in the Definitions section of this policy
appear after the information that the signatory is endorsing.
Where a document has noted attachments, the endorsement can be made before the attachments.
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Date of issue - All documents must identify the date of issue and is to include the day, month and year. Packing declarations may contain vessel/voyage number which can be used in lieu of the date of issue.
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Consignment specific link - All documents presented to the department for assessment must have a unique consignment-specific link. Examples of consignment identification include:
container numbers
bill numbers
commercial invoice numbers
lot codes
preferential tariff certificate numbers
packing list numbers
letter of credit numbers.
Where a document does not contain one of the accepted forms of consignment identification, a numerical link to another document that does contain appropriate consignment identification must be present.
Examples of acceptable numerical links include:
order numbers
reference numbers
any other internal reference numbers used by overseas companies
vessel/voyage references.
Numerical links alone cannot be used as consignment identification links.
Unacceptable numerical links are references that could be present in previous or subsequent consignments and relate to a model, type or standardised item number. Examples of unacceptable numerical links include:
number of packages
weights
dates
stockkeeping unit
item codes.
Annual packing declarations are exempt from having consignment-specific links.
For further information, please refer to the Minimum documentary and import declaration requirements policy.
Related Information:
- Minimum documentary and import declaration requirements policy
- World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
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