Changes

The department has amended the import conditions for Rubus spp. nursery stock, following a review to ensure they are current and best able to protect Australian agriculture from new and emerging plant pests and diseases.

The following changes have been made:

• A reduction of the minimum duration in government post-entry quarantine (PEQ) from 18 months to 12 months.
• Increased adoption of molecular testing using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the presence of regulated pathogens within imported material. As a result:
  - the overall number of PCR tests conducted during PEQ will increase from 5 to 22 tests
  - biological indexing, woody and herbaceous indexing, will no longer be used to screen imported Rubus spp. material for regulated viruses
  - viruses previously screened via enzyme-based immunosorbent assay (ELISA) will now be detected using PCR.

Tissue culture will remain the only form of Rubus spp. nursery stock permitted for import.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers of Rubus spp. nursery stock, brokers and department staff.

Import permits:
Import permits will be varied to reflect the changes, at no cost to permit holders. The department will contact affected permit holders regarding these variations.

Rubus spp. plants currently in post entry quarantine (PEQ):
Rubus spp. plants imported from 1 September 2021 will be subject to the revised conditions.

Background:
The department is reviewing the post-entry quarantine conditions for several high-risk nursery stock genera. These plants are economically significant and/or carry significant pests or pathogens and are currently required to undergo disease screening at the Commonwealth’s PEQ facility.

This work is funded through the Accelerating Horticulture Market Access program (AHMA) established under the ‘Enhancing Australia’s Agriculture’s Trade’ measure within the Australian government’s 2019-20 budget. AHMA supports further development of an internationally competitive and profitable horticulture sector.

Further information:
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or by email at imports@agriculture.gov.au (please title the subject line of the email with ‘Plant T2 – Rubus nursery stock).