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Information for high school students
What is quarantine?The scope of the problem
Prohibited items
Commonwealth and state law
Effectiveness of quarantine
History of the administration of quarantine
What is quarantine?
Quarantine is designed to prevent the introduction, establishment or spread of animal, plant or human pests and diseases. Pests and diseases could be carried into Australia by people, animals, in animal products such as meat, in plants, or in plant products such as timber or soil.
All of these must undergo quarantine inspection, and many plants and animals must be isolated at quarantine stations so any pest or disease risks can be identified and, if necessary, treated.
AQIS provides quarantine inspection services for the arrival of international passengers, cargo, mail, animals and plants and animal and plant products at all entry points into Australia. The men and women who work for AQIS are on duty 24 hours a day, every day of the year—whenever people, plants and animals arrive at Australian airports and seaports.
Quarantine controls at Australia's borders minimise the risk of exotic pests and diseases entering Australia and protect our $32 billion agriculture export industries as well as our environment, tourism industries and lifestyle.
Australia's isolation from the rest of the world used to mean that keeping out unwanted pests and diseases was easy. However, globalisation has made quarantine's job much more challenging—as the world gets 'smaller', protecting our shores requires ever more vigilance.
Many countries have pests and diseases that could have a devastating effect on our unique plants and animals. Australia has the toughest quarantine standards in the world and is free from serious plant and animal diseases found in other parts of the world. So far, we've managed to keep many of these pests and diseases out.
The scope of the problem
Each year, nearly 12 million passengers pass through quarantine on arrival at Australian airports and seaports, 1.8 million cargo containers are inspected and about 150 million items of international mail enter Australia. All of these arrivals pose a risk for human health, our agricultural industries and our natural environment because they could carry hidden pests and diseases.
In addition to personal items, such as gifts and souvenirs carried by passengers or sent by mail, consignment of animals, plants, foodstuffs and other items that are important for our international trade could also introduce pests or diseases.
Prohibited items
Prohibited items are items that are forbidden by law because they pose a quarantine risk.
Food, plant material and animal products from overseas—including many common souvenirs—could introduce some of the world's most serious pests and diseases into Australia, devastating our valuable agriculture and tourism industries and unique environment.
All food, plant material and animal products must be declared for inspection on arrival in Australia. These items may undergo X-ray, detector dog or personal inspection. Live plants and animals must be isolated at special quarantine stations so that any pest or disease can be isolated and prevented from spreading.
What can’t I take to Australia? provides details on items that cannot be brought into Australia and what items you will need to declare.
Commonwealth and state law
Protecting Australia from unwanted pests and diseases requires the joint effort of:
- Australian citizens
- visitors to Australia
- Commonwealth and State Governments
- Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
- Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- other government bodies such as the Australian Customs Service; Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; Commonwealth and state police; and the Australian Defence Forces
- state and territory departments of agriculture or primary industries, or their equivalents
- private companies and organisations, such as sea and air transport staff, including customs agents, shipping companies, stevedores, airline carriers and their staff.
We can all play a part.
Australian Commonwealth and state parliaments have passed special laws that set out the roles and responsibilities of all people in protecting Australia from exotic pests and diseases. The Commonwealth law is called the Quarantine Act. 'Act' is another name for a law passed by Parliament. All Australians, and all people who visit Australia, are expected to obey the Commonwealth and state quarantine laws.
State Quarantine Acts set out special rules for protecting the state or territory where you live. If you live in Tasmania, for example, then two sets of quarantine rules apply: the Commonwealth rules on national quarantine, and the State rules that protect Tasmania.
See Quarantine Domestic for more information on state quarantine rules.
Effectiveness of quarantine
AQIS recognises that natural movements such as those of migratory birds and wind-borne organisms, as well as massive influxes of people, aircraft, cargo, vessels and mail, means that pests and diseases of animals, plants and people will inevitably cross our borders, notwithstanding our best efforts to prevent it.
A comprehensive review of Australia’s quarantine issues, and animal and plant quarantine policies and programs, and their effectiveness, was conducted in 1996. The report—Australia Quarantine: A Shared Responsibility—was presented to the government with 109 recommendations. In 1997, the government responded with Australian Quarantine: A Shared Responsibility: The Government response and made a commitment to improve Australia's quarantine systems, practices and resources.
History of the administration of quarantine
The Quarantine Act 1908 derives its authority from Section 51(ix) of the Constitution. It was introduced as a result of the states' perception of the need for a comprehensive set of national laws governing the control of infected persons, vessels, goods, animals and plants entering the country from overseas.
Before proclamation of the Commonwealth Act, the states had enacted uniform quarantine legislation, generally known as the Federal Quarantine Acts. The Commonwealth Act, which was given effect on 1 July 1909, tended to follow the principles embodied in the State legislation. Under the Administrative Arrangements Order of the day, the Act was to be administered by the Department of Trade and Customs. While under Customs administration, the position of Director of Quarantine was created to assume responsibility for policy development in quarantine matters.
With the creation of the Commonwealth Department of Health in 1921, quarantine policy was vested in the health portfolio. Service delivery aspects of animal and plant quarantine continued to be carried out by state departments (as was the case before Federation), while human quarantine services were gradually taken over by the Commonwealth.
The quarantine function remained under the Department of Health's administration until being transferred to the Department of Primary Industry in December 1984. The states continued to deliver operational services for quarantine under formal agency arrangements with the Commonwealth until 1995. In 1995, the Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand agreed to transfer service delivery functions from the states to direct Commonwealth control. Operational services in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria have been transferred. Service delivery functions in the care of the other States remain unchanged.
The above history is taken from "Australian Quarantine - a shared responsibility". M.E. Nairn, P.G. Allen, A.R. Inglis and C. Tanner Department of Primary Industries and Energy Canberra 1996 © Commonwealth of Australia 1996 ISBN 0 642 25971 2