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Case: Veterinary therapeutics and veterinary therapeutic ingredients Effective: 12 Sep 2020 to 13 Oct 2020

Case Description

This case describes the requirements to import goods for veterinary therapeutic use (including vaccines, therapeutic products, medicines, and products for use in assisted reproductive technologies). This case must also be used for ingredients for use in veterinary therapeutic manufacturing. Veterinary therapeutic goods may come in forms such as tablets, pills, capsules, powders or liquids. Veterinary therapeutic goods are used to: prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate a disease or condition in animals, or prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate an infestation of animals by a pest, or cure or alleviate an injury suffered by animals, or influence, inhibit or modify a physiological process associated with a disease or condition in animals.

Alerts

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1 Active Change Notice(s) View

This case applies to imports into: Australia.

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Warnings and Information Notices

Australia has a very conservative approach to the importation of veterinary products that contain ingredients derived from Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) susceptible animals.

Officers from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment assess the TSE risk of ingredients derived from TSE susceptible animals giving consideration to the guidelines for managing the risk of transmitting transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). As per these guidelines, what type of animal derived material is being used and the country (or countries) in which the animals were born, raised and slaughtered are important considerations.

These guidelines refer to a country classification system based on countries being of negligible, controlled or undetermined Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risk status. For information about the countries considered by the department to have a negligible, controlled or undetermined BSE risk status see the department's website.

Members of the public importing veterinary products for personal use must also familiarise themselves with the requirements of the APVMA (please refer to the APVMA website for further information). In the same way that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registers medicines for human use, the APVMA is the Australian government statutory authority responsible for the registration of veterinary medicines.

All veterinary medicines manufactured overseas and imported into Australian territory are subject to APVMA requirements. Members of the public should contact the APVMA or speak to their veterinary practitioner before purchasing and importing veterinary medicines from overseas.

Members of the public importing veterinary products into Australian territory for personal use should review the conditions in this case thoroughly.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment ('the department') will not release goods from biosecurity control unless the conditions in this case can be met, i.e.:

the importer can demonstrate with appropriate documentation to the department regional office that a permit is not required, or
a valid import permit is presented with supporting documentation to the department regional office which allows the goods to be cleared.

If a permit is required to import the veterinary product into Australian territory, the importers must be able to provide a Veterinary Products Questionnaire that has been completed by the overseas manufacturer. Without this information the department will not be able to progress an application for import permit.

Some products may require specialised storage and/or handling.