Changes

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has completed a Weed Risk Assessment for the species Begonia conipila and Begonia pavonina. The assessment has determined these species are permitted as they pose a low weed risk to Australia.

As a result, Begonia conipila and Begonia pavonina has been added to the ‘Medium risk plants for use as nursery stock’ BICON case. These species may be permitted entry into Australian territory as nursery stock subject to the import conditions of this case.

No other changes have been made to import conditions within the above BICON case.

Background:
The Weed Risk Assessment and Disease Risk Assessment systems are science-based quarantine risk analysis tools for determining the weed potential of a species and the disease risks of a genus. All plants proposed for importation into Australian territory and not currently permitted on BICON are assessed for their potential to introduce disease or become weed species in Australia. Further information on the assessment process is available on the department's webpage.

Import permits:
Current import permits will not be updated to reflect this change, any permit holders intending to import this species will have to apply for a variation to include this additional species.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers (and their customs brokers) of these species for an end use of nursery stock and departmental staff.

Further information:
Contact Plant Import Operations at imports@aff.gov.au (please include ‘Plant T2’ within the subject line) or phone 1800 900 090.