Case Glossary

Animal Material
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.

A manufactured article refers to a plant fibre product that has undergone processing and has been made into a final product. Examples of this are hats, place mats, small gift boxes and baskets.

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)
    

Coir fibre is fibre extracted from the husk of the coconut. The fibre may be imported in the form of bales or bundles, or manufactured articles and handicrafts. Common coir fibre products include doormats, rope, brushes, mattresses and liners for hanging baskets.

Corn cob can be used in handicrafts, and corn cob powder is used as an abrasive. Corn cob products must be free of corn kernels.

Broken corn kernels that contain the white endocarp may still be capable of germination. The endocarp is the part of a seed that germinates. In corn kernels the endocarp is the white part at the base of the kernel that is or was attached to the cob. If this part of the kernel is intact then even if the corn kernel is broken it is still capable of germination.

Plants in the genus Furcraea are used to produce a fibre called fique, cabuya or pita. The fibre comes from Central and South America and is sometimes referred to sisal or hemp. Fique is used in the production of string, rope, mats and handicrafts.

Flax and linen are derived from the fibre of Linum usitatissimum, which is also cultivated for the production of linseed. Short, broken fibres are called tow and are used to make coarse fabrics and cordage, the long fibres are used for strong threads and fine linens. This is not to be mistaken with New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax, which is used for weaving baskets and bags.

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem.

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.

'Hemp' used as a generic term for fibres from many different plants. True Hemp (or Indian hemp) is obtained from Cannabis sativa. Other fibres often referred to as hemp include: Canada hemp (Apocynum cannabinum), Bombay hemp, Deccan hemp, Ambari hemp or brown hemp (Hibiscus cannabinus), Kentucky hemp (Urtica cannabina), Moorva or bowstring-hemp (Sansevieria zeylanica), Nee, Pité hemp (Agave americana), Sisal hemp (Agave sisalana), Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea).

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.

Kapok is a cotton-like fibre obtained from the fruit pods of the kapok tree or silk-cotton tree, Ceiba pentranda. The fibre is a lustrous, yellowish floss that is light, fluffy, resilient, and resistant to water and decay. The plant is cultivated in Java, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and other parts of East Asia and in Africa. The fibre must be removed by hand from the pods, dried, freed from seeds and dust. It is used as stuffing, especially for life preservers, bedding, and upholstery, and for insulation against sound and heat. The seed kernel contains about 25% fatty oil used for soap or refined as edible oil. The residual cake is valuable as a fertilizer and as livestock fodder. It may also be called ceba, ceiba, Java cotton silk cotton, silk floss etc. Indian kapok comes from Bombax malabaricum.

Plagianthus regius has a fine inner bark that is used to produce a fibre known as lacebark or ribbonwood. There are no significant plant pathogens known to be associated with this material. The fibre has a similar appearance to raffia.

Animals – Live

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.

New Zealand flax (Phormium spp.) can be made in to a variety of fibre articles. Long strips of leaf may be processed (stripped, washing, bleaching, fixing, softening, dyeing and drying) and woven or plaited to produce basketry and mats. The leaves may also be pounded to make a fibre called muka which is used to make cordage and rope.

Plant fibres include; coir, flax, hemp, kapok, sisal and tampico, lacebark/ribbonbark, fique, New Zealand flax, rush, seagrass, jute, water hyacinth and palm leaf articles.

Plant fibres also include gourd, coconut shell and corn cob articles (including corn cob powder).

See Plant fibre

Rushes are grass-like plants in the genera Juncus, they have pithy hollow stems and grow in marshes. Rushes are usually woven into mats, baskets and decorations. Many rushes are weeds. Imported products must be free of spikes/seed heads which may contain viable seeds.

Seagrass is a term that refers to flowering plants belonging to the following plant families and genera within these families:

Zosteraceae

1. Alga
   

2. Heterozostera
   

3. Nanozostera
   

4. Phyllospadix
   

5. Zostera
   

Cymodoceaceae

1. Amphibolis
   

2. Cymodocea
   

3. Diplanthera
   

4. Halodule
   

5. Pectinella
   

6. Syringodium
   

7. Thalassodendron
   

Hydrocharitaceae

1. Anacharis
   

2. Blyxa
   

3. Dominia
   

4. Egeria
   

5. Elodea
   

6. Enhalus
   

7. Halophila
   

8. Hydrilla
   

9. Hydrocharis
   

10. Lagarosiphon
    

11. Maidenia
    

12. Najas
    

13. Ottelia
    

14. Schizotheca
    

15. Thalassia
    

16. Udora
    

17. Vallisneria
    

Ruppiaceae

1. Udora
   

Zannichelliaceae

1. Althenia
   

2. Lepilaena
   

3. Zannichellia
   

Gracilariaceae

1. Gracilaria
   

Sisal is fibre from the plant Agave sisalana. It is a stiff, pale fibre that is mainly used for rope, twine and carpets.