Alerts

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the department) has received notification of a recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Hungary.

HPAI is not considered to be endemic in Australia.

The Director of Biosecurity is required to act on changes to disease status in order to manage Australia’s biosecurity risk to an Appropriate Level of Protection (ALOP).

Due to the recent change in avian disease and health status of this country, the department has imposed date restrictions on the sourcing of avian materials from the affected country. These changes including restriction dates can be viewed on the list of countries approved for avian fluids and tissues.

The department has updated the list of countries approved for avian fluids and tissues for laboratory end use.

The approved country list is referenced on active permits and in BICON pathways. The list is used where import conditions require goods to be sourced from avians which resided in countries approved for avian fluids and tissues (as listed on the department’s website) at the time of collection.

If you are an affected permit holder, the department will contact you to notify you that your permit is affected by this change and explain what this means.

Because of the high biosecurity risk posed by HPAI in avian fluids and tissues, these changes are effective as of 13 January 2021.

Who does this alert affect:

Importers of avian fluids and tissues (and derivatives) for laboratory use and department staff.

Further information:

Please contact the department on 1800 900 090 (prompt 1, prompt 1) or via email at imports@agriculture.gov.au.