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Notice to Industry 8/2009- Importation of mined and chemical fertilisers

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This notice is to remind industry and new importers of their obligations under the Quarantine Act 1908 when importing mined and chemical fertilisers. It also advises of a change to the policy on issuing import permits for these products.

What are the issues? 

The importation of fertilisers into Australia can present serious quarantine issues. Imported consignments may be contaminated with quarantine risk materials (QRM) such as weed seed, soil and animal matter and associated pathogens, which have the potential for introducing exotic pests and diseases into Australia. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) has a nil tolerance policy on contaminated fertiliser imports, which has been in place since 1995.

Importers should note the following:

  1. The need for an import permit: The Quarantine Proclamation 1998 (Division 2, Section 33) prohibits the importation of articles, including fertiliser, likely to introduce a disease or pest unless an import permit has been issued to import the product into Australia. As such, persons wanting to import mined and chemical fertilisers must apply for an import permit for any consignments where the individual bag weight is 100 kilograms or more, and for all bulk consignments. Note that Import Permits must be obtained by prospective importers prior to shipping. To apply for a permit, please see the contact addresses at the bottom of this notice.

  2. Offshore Quality Control to eliminate quarantine contaminant material: Importers are asked to consider what quality control systems are in place offshore from the point of manufacture to the point of shipment and through to the point of importation into Australia. These control system are designed to eliminate any potential contamination of consignments likely to be of quarantine concern. It is the importers’ responsibility to ensure that consignments imported are free from quarantine risk material. Where contaminated consignments are detected and a suitable quarantine treatment option is not available, permission to discharge will be refused and re-export will be ordered.

  3. Quarantine Approved Premises: Before applying for an import permit, prospective importers need to ensure that they have considered the import pathway for their product and have arranged Quarantine Approved Premises in each port of discharge in Australia. The Quarantine Approved Premises need to be an appropriate class as well as having adequate storage capacity to handle the proposed import.

What has changed?

AQIS will now only send permits to importers: In the past, Australian importers of mined and chemical fertilisers have been able to have their import permits emailed directly to their brokers. While brokers and agents can still apply for import permits for their clients, AQIS will now be sending permits only to the importers, who are the owners of the permits. The importer must give their own email address on the application form, not that of their broker, otherwise AQIS will mail the import permit to the applicant. This is to ensure that importers are aware of the conditions on their import permit, and can take the necessary steps (outlined above) to comply with them.

Further information

Please see the AQIS website for more details on importing fertiliser.

Any other enquiries should be directed to the Bulk Commodities National Coordination Centre via email or by telephone on 02 4962 4450.