Australia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in australia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Quarantine

The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is the federal body responsible for enforcing Australia’s quarantine of goods regulations, including issuing permits and inspecting shipments.

Australia is a signatory to the WTO “Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures.”  U.S. exporters, however, may find it difficult to comply with Australia’s import quarantine requirements.  Aside from issues relating to the importation of fresh food and animals, Australia’s quarantine measures cover other imported products such as farm, mining and construction machinery, some packaged foods, and other products that may pose a contamination risk to Australia’s agricultural industry or natural environment. There may also be seasonal biosecurity measures in place by the Australian government, such as those used to contain the spread of brown marmorated stink bugs, that a wide range of U.S. exporters will need to comply with.

The Australian government enforces its quarantine measures very strictly.  Importers have little recourse once a shipment encounters quarantine issues.

Machinery imports may require an import permit – especially used machinery.  It is a condition of the entry that motor vehicles, motorcycles, machinery (or their parts) or tires are clean and free of contamination of biosecurity concern (internally and externally) before they arrive in Australia. Contamination of biosecurity concern includes, but is not limited to: live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal feces, animal material and plant material such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, bark. For quarantine purposes, new field-tested equipment is classified as ‘used machinery,’ and will require an Import Permit.  DAFF has the power to re-export contaminated machinery.  More detailed information relating to the import of machinery can be found at DAFF’s website.

Packaging of imported goods can present a challenge to U.S. exporters, particularly where the packing materials include wood or other natural products.  Detailed information on the compliance requirements can be found at DAFF’s web page on packaging.  

For complete information on products that need to comply with Australia’s quarantine regulations, U.S. exporters should check the requirements on the Department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON) database.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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