Changes

The department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has completed a Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) for the species listed in the table below.

The assessment determined that the species are permitted for import subject to the import conditions of the ‘Raw seed for human consumption’ case, on the basis that they either:

• pose a low weed risk and seed-borne disease risk to Australia.
• are already present in Australia and not under official control, and no known associated disease risk.
• are a synonym of subordinate taxa of an already listed permitted species.

As a result, the below scientific names have been added to the list of permitted species in the ‘Raw seed for human consumption’ case.

No other changes have been made to import conditions for raw seed for human consumption.

Background:
These changes have been reflected in the published Permitted Seeds List (updated on 24 May 2023), which contains conditionally non-prohibited goods which are subject to specific conditions of import, as outlined in the Biosecurity (Conditionally Non-Prohibited Goods) Determination 2021.

The Weed Risk Assessment system is a science-based quarantine risk analysis tool for determining the weed potential of a plant. All plants proposed for importation into Australia and not currently permitted on BICON are assessed for their potential to become weeds in Australia. Further information on the Weed Risk Assessment system is available on the department’s webpage for Weed assessment of new plant imports.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers of raw seed for human consumption, customs brokers and departmental staff.

Further information:
Contact Plant Import Operations at imports@agriculture.gov.au or phone 1800 900 090.