Changes

The department has removed the requirement for an import permit for soil or articles containing soil receiving mandatory heat treatment on arrival. Updated import conditions can be viewed in the BICON case ‘Soil and articles containing soil’ by selecting the option ‘Soil samples subject to mandatory treatment onshore’.

In addition, the following updates have been made to the ‘Soil samples that will be subject to mandatory treatment onshore’ and ‘Water samples subject to mandatory treatment onshore’ pathways to reduce burden on importers and clarify Approved Arrangement (AA) class requirements:

• Heat treatment of samples (autoclave or dry heat) may now occur in class 5 AA sites nominated by the importer.
• Dry heat treatment occurring in a class 4.1 AA facility must now be performed by a class 12.3 AA, in accordance with class 4.1 requirements.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers of soil (and articles containing soil) and water, Pathways Operations Cargo – Assessment and Inspections, Client Contact Group.

Import permits:
No changes will be made to existing import permits for Soil and water for mandatory treatment on arrival. Importers can continue to use their import permit for ‘Soil that will be subject to heat treatment on arrival’ or import goods under the updated conditions with no permit required.

Further information:
Please contact the Biological Imports Program on 1800 900 090 or email imports@agriculture.gov.au (attention to: Laboratory & Human Tissues Program) for more information.