Imported flowers and foliage from three overseas countries are to require new permits to enter Australia from the Department of Agriculture after 1 September.
Importers can apply now for import permits to ensure they have an active permit when they become mandatory for Kenya, Colombia and Ecuador.
Head of Plant Biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture, Marion Healy said the new regulatory arrangements would help the Department significantly reduce the high volume of live pests of biosecurity concern arriving in Australia.
“The use of import permits will allow the Department to reduce the biosecurity risk and more rapidly address non-compliance of individual importers,” Dr Healy said.
“Importers will still be able to send flowers and foliage produced using the country’s existing systems approach. They will, however, be required to have in place additional pest control measures approved by the Department through an import permit.”
She said permits would initially be granted for a short period to allow the Department to assess the effectiveness of the permit conditions at reducing the biosecurity risk.
“We will only agree to approve further permits if we’re confident the importer is managing the risks and is sending consignments with low pest loads.
“These changes are part of our Department’s ongoing work to protect Australia’s vital biosecurity,” Dr Healy said.
