TOUGH QUARANTINE LAWS AND INCREASED FINES NOW APPLY

All international travellers entering Australia who do not declare quarantine risk items, now face an on-the-spot fine of up to $220.  This could happen as a result of failing to declare something as small as a piece of fruit!

Smugglers of prohibited items may be prosecuted – and may face fines of up to $60,000, and a criminal record.  For example, a student who arrived in Brisbane airport was recently fined $6,700 for trying to smuggle less than a kilogram of dried meat into Australia.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is now inspecting almost 100% of all international passengers, cargo and mail coming into Australia.

International airports

Recently, AQIS has recruited around 1,200 extra staff, 35 extra detector dog teams and 48 new x-ray machines at airports across the country.  Most travelers coming into Australia’s international airports will now have their luggage screened – either by detector dogs, x-ray machines or inspection of their bags. International students must declare food, wooden items or items of plant and animal origin.  If you are unsure about an item, declare it!

International mail

All letters, packages and parcels are now screened by quarantine to check that they do not contain prohibited items.  Prohibited items will be removed from parcels and destroyed. Some articles may need to be treated to make them safe.
Mails are screened by x-ray machines, detector dogs and quarantine officers at the international mail centres across Australia. Students must ensure that their families do not send quarantine risk items through the mail.

International cargo

AQIS now also screens all cargo coming into Australia – including personal effects such as clothing, cutlery, food, books, bicycles, sporting equipment, dried flower arrangements, kitchen appliances, souvenirs and other items. 

Cargo sent by sea or airfreight may need an import permit or treatment, and packing materials and containers such as straw or egg, fruit and vegetable cartons are prohibited because they are a pest or disease risk.

Do not risk it.

To protect Australia’s unique natural environment – with plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world – as well as our $22 billion agricultural industries, we all have to play our part. One item could have devastating consequences.

For more important information on what you can and cannot bring into Australia simply visit:   www.aqis.gov.au
 

When in doubt ALWAYS declare

These goods must be declared

• ­Seeds and nuts
• Plant products
• Food
• Teas, coffees, and milk based drinks
• ­Bamboo, cane or rattan basket ware and mats - including coconut carvings, cane baskets
• ­Wooden articles
• Fresh flowers and dried flower arrangements, pine cones and potpourri
• ­Shells or coral in any form
• Feathers, bones, horns and tusks
• Stuffed animals
• Wool (unprocessed) and animal hair
• Animal equipment (used)
• Sporting and camping equipment
• Bee products

These goods you cannot bring

• Dairy, eggs and egg products
• Live animals
• ­Meat and meat products
• ­Seeds and nuts 
• Fresh fruit and vegetables 
• Live plants 
• Handicrafts and souvenirs that contain or are made from seeds 
• Biological materials
• ­Deer horn/velvet, edible birds nest packaged products
• ­Soil and sand