Australia Import Requirements

Australia import requirements are the necessities required of an importer or intending importer to start importing especially foods to Australia markets. This write-up defines the minimum documentary and import declaration requirements that must be met when lodging a declaration to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to support risk assessment of imported goods, whether for biosecurity purpose or the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.

Imported goods may be released or directed for subsequent action based on a biosecurity officer’s assessment of documentation and the information in an import declaration.

Customs brokers, operating under an Approved Arrangement with the department, also release goods or direct them for subsequent action based on the documentation available to them. Hence its advised that an importer should present all the necessary documents to avoid seizure of import license or destruction of goods.

Table of Contents

10 General Australia Import Requirements

All documentation must meet the following general requirements when presented to the department as part of the import process.

Complete
Legible
Valid
In English
Free from erasures and non-certified alterations
Multiple paged documents
Endorsed
Date of issue
Consignment-specific link
On time Submission

Document Format Requirements

International trade documents include commercial and transport documents used in international trade and official government certification issued for food or plant health are part of Australia import requirements. These classes of document include, but are not limited to

Bills of lading
Air waybills
Commercial invoices
Phytosanitary certificates
Health certificates

Letterhead/Company Stamp or Seal for Australia import requirements

Documents which are part of Australia import requirements that are not covered by international standards must be provided on the issuing company’s letterhead. The only acceptable substitute for a letterhead is the issuing company’s stamp or seal.

The letterhead, company stamp or seal must include the company’s name and address.

Documents to be presented in line with this requirement include:

Packing declarations (including annual packing declarations)
Container cleanliness declarations
Treatment certificates
Manufacturers’ declarations
Beneficiary certificates
Exporter declarations
Importer declarations
Supplier declarations
Vessel cleanliness certificates
Vessel cleanliness inspection reports.

General Information for Importer’s Declaration

An importer’s declaration will only be accepted from the company/individual that is importing the goods and will be ultimately in control of the goods.

An importer’s declaration must:

contain the correct statement/s as required by the import conditions
be specific to the product and consignment
include the individuals name and company title.
Be endorsed as per the overarching document requirements.

In addition to other requirements, where a declaration is required to be endorsed by the government of the exporting country, the declaration must also:

be signed and dated by a government officer within the past six months (unless otherwise specified)
include the government officer’s name and title
be sealed with the stamp/seal of the applicable government department.

Commercial Documentation

In line with standard international trade requirements and practice, a commercial invoice may contain:

supplier and purchaser details (including name and physical exporting and importing addresses)
commercial reference numbers, such as invoice or order numbers
quantity and description of the goods
lot codes.

General information for a packing list/sheet/slip, a packing list may contain:

supplier and purchaser details
commercial reference numbers, such as invoice or order numbers
description and quantity of the goods
consignment-specific marks and numbers.

Transport Documentation

General information for a bill of lading (including interim bill of lading) , a bill of lading (or interim bill of lading) must be in accordance with the standard international trade requirements as specified by the International Chamber of Shipping.

A bill of lading must include:

individual bill of lading number
shipping line’s details
consignor/shipper/export details (including name and address)
consignee details (may be to order’)
vessel and voyage details
load port and discharge port
weight, volume and description of the goods.

A bill of lading may also include:

container or seal numbers (if goods are containerised)
commercial reference numbers, such as invoice or order numbers
shipped on board date
marks and numbers to identify goods
serial numbers
batch or lot code numbers.

General information for an air waybill, in line with the standard international trade requirements as specified by the International Air

Transport Association, an air waybill must contain:

individual air waybill number
consignor details (including name and address)
consignee details (may be ‘to order’)
flight carrier and flight number
airport of departure (address of first carrier) and requested routing
airport of destination
weight, volume and description of the goods.

An air waybill may also include:

commercial reference numbers, such as invoice or order numbers
marks and numbers to identify goods, such as serial numbers or batch numbers.

Air waybills are also acceptable in electronic format (e-AWB).

Documentation Issued by The Department

Import permits

An import permit may only be used by (or on behalf of) the person or entity named as the holder of the permit and must be valid at the time the goods are landed.

Conditions stated on an import permit take precedence over any conditions stated in BICON. These conditions may include the addition of specific statement/s on commercial documentation. Import permits are not required to be presented for documentary assessment; the permit number is sufficient for the department to assess the documentation.

Clearance letter

A clearance letter may only be used by (or on behalf of) the person or entity named in the letter and must be valid at the time the goods are landed. Clearance letters will only be accepted if issued by a national policy section or a service delivery assistant director (or higher).

General Information for Treatment Certificates

Certificates attesting to the performance of offshore treatments are required to meet the Australia import requirements

All certificates must contain:

treatment provider’s letterhead including name and physical address
description of goods/packaging treated
quantity/volume of goods/packaging treated
date treatment was performed
any statement as required by the import conditions.
Where the department has arrangements (such as AFAS) with overseas governments, treatment certificates must include:
the government scheme under which the treatment provider has been registered
the treatment provider’s registration number.

Validity Australia import requirements

All treatments must be performed by an acceptable treatment provider within the mandated timeframe before export as outlined in the Australia import requirements.

Below are the information requirements for each treatment type.

Fumigations:

name of fumigant
dosage expressed as mass per volume; for example, grams per cubic metre
duration/exposure period; for example, hours or minutes
minimum temperature and pressure (if applicable)
date the treatment was conducted
additional requirements for methyl bromide fumigations:
for treatment providers that are registered under AFAS, treatment certificates must include the information required by the AFAS Methyl Bromide Fumigation Standard