Case Glossary

Any material that originates from, or is produced by a living animal, including hair, fur, skin, faeces, shell, blood and fluids, feathers, honey, flesh and bone.

The Risks of Animal Material
Products derived from animals pose a significant biosecurity risk. All animal parts/products such as animal tissues and blood can introduce serious animal pathogens. Many viruses and bacteria are able to survive for long periods in tissue, blood and mucous.

Biosecurity Risk Material (BRM) includes but is not limited to:

1. Animal Material (e.g. hair, fur, skin, faeces, shell, blood and fluids, feathers, honey, flesh, bone, horn)
2. Live Animals (e.g. rodents, reptiles, geckos, frogs and birds)
3. Food scraps (e.g. peel, shells, skins and wrappers)
4. Plant material (e.g. reproductive material (e.g. pollen, spores, seeds, flowers, fruits, and vegetables), fresh material (e.g. leaves, gum and stems) and dry material (e.g. pods, bark, branches, roots, straw, wood)
5. Live plants (e.g. plants, weeds, sprouted seeds and propagatable material)
6. Live insects (e.g. timber pests (e.g. termites, ants and larvae), stored product pests (e.g. beetles and larvae), insects seeking refuge (e.g. ants, bees, wasps, moths and spiders), hitchhikers (e.g. grasshoppers and butterflies) and plant pests (e.g. fruit flies, mites, thrips, etc)
7. Evidence of live insects (e.g. wasps nests, mud nests, wings, shells and casings)
8. Snails and slugs
9. Evidence of snails and slugs (e.g. shells, eggs and trail marks)
10. Plant pathogens (e.g. fungi, nematodes, bacteria, viruses and mould)
11. Soil (e.g. dirt, mud, gravel, clay and sand)
12. Water (e.g. pools of water, water in receptacles, articles used with water)

See Commercially prepared and packaged

Commercially prepared and packaged goods must contain information about the product either on a label or on commercial documentation accompanying the goods e.g. a commercial invoice.

Handwritten or handmade labels (for example: labels made of fabric/leather/metal/crafty material/handwritten on a label) are not acceptable. Package must be tamper evident or tamper resistant.

The following information must be included:

1. Name or description of the goods,
2. A list of all the ingredients or components (if multiple),
3. Country where the goods were made or produced,
4. The quantity of the package contents (weight, volume, count), AND  

5. At least one of the other components from the below list:

   • Name and address of the manufacturer or supplier of the goods,
   • Serial, batch or lot identification numbers,
   • Branding information (including marks numerals or symbols),
   • Date marking information,
   • Bar codes, Universal Product Codes, and RFID labels,
   • Nutrition information,
   • Directions for use and storage conditions.

Note: Refer to Attachments 1 (Acceptable packaging) and 2 (Unacceptable packaging) for examples of packaging.

A consignment is considered to be exported either:

1. when it is lodged with the freight forwarder, shipping company/airline, charter operator or an appointed agent in the place of origin, for ultimate destination in an Australian territory
2. when it is shipped on board the vessel for an ultimate destination in an Australian territory, or
3. when it is packed in a container and sealed in preparation for transport for an ultimate destination in an Australia territory.

Food scraps may be any biosecurity risk material of plant or animal origin and include any discarded food items that contaminate imported cargo. This includes but is not limited to fruit peelings, meat scraps, seeds and pips. Food items may carry animal or plant diseases or be infested with live insects.

Goods include:

1. An animal
2. A plant
3. A sample or specimen of a disease agent
4. A pest
5. Mail; and
6. Any other article substance or thing.

Goods does not include ballast water or human remains. It also does not include a conveyance, except in certain circumstances.

The department will assess the application and on the basis of that assessment may decide to grant an import permit subject to any conditions deemed necessary for safe importation, use and disposal of those products.

It should be noted that applying for an import permit does not automatically result in an import permit being issued. The Director of biosecurity or their delegate issues the import permit. You should ensure that an application is submitted for each product type and that the prescribed fee accompanies the import permit application.

Any animal that is alive, unintentionally entering Australia as a hitchhiker via sea or airfreight. They include but are not limited to mammals (e.g. rats), amphibians (e.g. toads and frogs), reptiles, birds and other vertebrates.

The Risks of Live Animals

Live animals can introduce exotic diseases into Australian territory. Live animals can be infested with parasites such as ticks, mites and fleas, which can act as vectors that transmit disease.