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Import Conditions

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Case: Mineral and metal ores, rock and sand Effective 10 Dec 2024 to 17 Apr 2025

Inorganic material and articles containing inorganic material

Import Conditions

Import conditions define the biosecurity requirements which must be met for your import. Where import conditions have been developed, they will be listed below.

Import conditions prior to arrival in Australian territory

  1. A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry import permit is not required.

  2. The consignment must be clean and free from live insects, animal debris, seeds, bark, soil, and any other contamination.

    To demonstrate compliance with this requirement you must present the following on a Manufacturer's declaration, Exporter's declaration, Supplier's declaration or Commercial invoice:

    1. the consignment is clean and free from live insects, animal debris, seeds, bark, soil and any other contamination; and

    2. details of any cleaning or treatment of the goods prior to shipment.

  3. Any packaging used with the consignment must be clean and new.

Import conditions after arrival in Australian territory

  1. If suitable documentation cannot be provided, the goods will be subject to inspection.

  2. Consignments may be subject to random inspections to verify that the goods are as declared.

  3. If the inorganic material is found to be contaminated, the consignment must be treated (as required by the Contamination Treatment Guide), exported or disposed of at the importer’s expense.

  4. Goods that are found to be free of live insects, animal debris, seeds, bark, soil, and any other contamination may be released from biosecurity control.

  5. For self assessed clearance (SAC) declaration consignments, detailed product descriptions should be provided to ensure that consignments are correctly profiled. For example, declare "pure copper concentrate" instead of "mineral".

Additional information

  1. Under the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Regulation 2016 and Chapter 9, Part 2 of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016, fees are payable to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for all services. Detail on how the department applies fees and levies may be found in the Charging guidelines.

  2. In addition to the conditions for the goods being imported, non-commodity concerns must be assessed including container cleanliness, packaging and destination concerns, and may be subject to inspection and treatment on arrival. Please refer to the Non-Commodity Cargo Clearance BICON case for further information.

  3. Seasonal measures apply to certain goods manufactured in, or shipped from target risk countries as sea cargo, to manage the risk of Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) contamination. These goods must meet import requirements if they are shipped between 1 September and 30 April (inclusive). These measures are in addition to existing import conditions that may also apply to the commodity risk of the goods. Please refer to the Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) hitchhiker pests BICON case for those specific import conditions.

What happens next?

When you are importing into Australia a departmental officer will assess the risk posed by your import and determine the appropriate outcome to apply. You may use the link below to view the likely outcomes for this particular import scenario. Please be aware that the assessment conducted may result in an outcome that is not listed.

View Onshore Outcomes