EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by Authority of the Director of Biosecurity
Biosecurity Act 2015
Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Amendment (Specified Countries No. 1) Determination 2026
Legislative Authority
The Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Act) provides the Commonwealth with powers to assess and manage the risk of pests and diseases entering Australian territory and causing harm to animal, plant and human health, or the environment.
Subsection 524A(1) of the Act provides that the Director of Biosecurity may make a determination listing goods, or classes of goods, for the purposes of section 524 of the Act. Sections 523 and 524 of the Act make provision for the issuing of infringement notices under the Act in relation to the provisions of the Act listed in subsection 523(1) of the Act.
Under subsection 524A(2) of the Act, the Director of Biosecurity may only make the determination if the Director is reasonably satisfied that there is a high level of biosecurity risk associated with the goods or the class of goods.
Under section 543 of the Act, the Minister may, by legislative instrument, give directions of a general nature to the Director of Biosecurity about the performance of his or her functions or the exercise of his or her powers. At the time of commencement, a ministerial direction has not been made under section 543 of the Act for the purposes of a determination listing goods, or classes of goods, for the purposes of section 524A of the Act.
Subsection 524A(4) of the Act provides that a determination made under subsection 524A(1) is a legislative instrument but is not subject to disallowance.
Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that a legislative power to make a legislative instrument includes a power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any), to amend the instrument.
Purpose
The Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Amendment (Specified Countries No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amendment Determination) amends the Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Determination 2025 (the Principal Determination) to remove Cyprus and Greece from the list of specified countries in Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination. This has the effect that meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from Cyprus and Greece are ‘category 1 goods’.
Together with subsection 88(2) of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 and section 524 of the Act, categorising the goods as Category 1 goods increases the penalty payable on infringement notices for providing false or misleading information or documents in relation to meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from Cyprus and Greece. The increase, from 2 penalty units to 12 penalty units, reflects the increase in biosecurity risk associated with these goods, following outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Cyprus and Greece.
The Director of Biosecurity is satisfied that there is a high level of biosecurity risk associated with meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from Cyprus and Greece. There are several significant biosecurity risks associated with uncontrolled entry of meat and meat products into Australia including, but not limited to, foot and mouth disease. As such, it is appropriate that such products from Cyprus and Greece are categorised as ‘category 1 goods’ attracting a higher penalty given that foot and mouth disease is now present in those countries.
Background
The Principal Determination lists goods, and classes of goods, that the Director of Biosecurity is satisfied have a high level of biosecurity risk associated with them. The Principal Determination lists goods and classes of goods as either ‘category 1 goods’ or ‘category 2 goods’.
Subsection 88(2) of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (the Regulation) sets out the penalty payable for an infringement notice for an alleged contravention of subsection 532(1) or 533(1) of the Act when an individual gives information or produces a document in compliance, or purported compliance, with a requirement under subsection 126(1) or 196(2) of the Act.
Sections 532 and 533 of the Act make it an offence to provide false or misleading information, omit any matter or thing without which information provided is misleading, or provide a false or misleading document, in compliance or purported compliance with a provision of the Act.
Subsection 126(1) of the Act provides that a biosecurity officer may require a person whom that officer suspects, on reasonable grounds, has information in relation to goods that are subject to biosecurity control to answer questions or provide information in relation to those goods. Subsection 196(2) of the Act allows the Director of Biosecurity to require all passengers, crew and persons in charge of an aircraft or vessel who enter or intend to enter Australian territory to provide information for the purposes of assessing the level of biosecurity risk associated with goods the person has with them.
The penalty unit amounts set out in subsection 88(2) of the Regulation for infringement notices are prescribed by reference to classes of goods listed in the Principal Determination as in force from time to time, as allowed by subsection 524(7) of the Act. This allows for infringement notice amounts to reflect the relative biosecurity risk of the goods to which the alleged contravention relates. Category 1 goods attract a higher penalty than category 2 goods.
Paragraph 6(1)(c) of the Principal Determination lists meat and meat products as category 1 goods, which means 12 penalty units are payable for an infringement notice in relation to such goods.
However, subsection 6(2) of the Principal Determination provides that paragraph 6(1)(c) does not apply to certain meat and meat products. This includes retorted meat and certain meat and meat products that are clearly labelled by the manufacturer as a product of a country specified in Schedule 1.
The countries specified in Schedule 1 are countries which the Director of Biosecurity was satisfied, at the time of making the Principal Determination, were free from foot and mouth disease. The Schedule specified 43 countries, including Cyprus and Greece. The effect of subsection 6(2) of the Principal Determination is that 2 penalty units are payable for an infringement notice in relation to meat and meat products from countries listed in Schedule 1.
Since making the Principal Determination, foot and mouth disease has been detected in Cyprus and Greece and the Director of Biosecurity is now satisfied that the level of biosecurity risk associated with meat and meat products from Cyprus and Greece (other than retorted meat) is high, and 2 penalty units is no longer an appropriate infringement notice penalty.
The removal of Cyprus and Greece from Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination has the effect that 12 penalty units are payable in relation to meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from these countries. The penalty amount payable for retorted meat from Cyprus and Greece remains the same (2 penalty units).
Consultation
Public consultation in relation to the Amendment Determination did not occur as it would not be feasible or appropriate. This is because it is not possible to identify, for the purposes of consultation, travellers who will knowingly fail to declare goods of a sort known to pose biosecurity risks on arrival at a first point of entry or knowingly provide false or misleading information or documents in relation to such goods (that is, the persons directly affected by the Amendment Determination). There is also no relevant representative body for travellers to Australia.
Impact and Effect
The Amendment Determination amends the Principal Determination to remove Cyprus and Greece from Schedule 1 of the Principal Determination, on the basis of evidence of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease on the island of Cyprus and in Greece.
The effect of this amendment is that meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) that are a product of Cyprus or Greece are category 1 goods and the amount payable under an infringement notice for providing false or misleading information or documents in relation to those products from Cyprus or Greece is 12 penalty units, rather than 2 penalty units.
Details/ Operation
Details of the instrument are set out at the Attachment.
Other
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (Legislation Act) but, under subsection 524A(4) of the Act, section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act does not apply to the Amendment Determination.
The exemption from disallowance for the instrument is set out in primary legislation. The justification for the instrument being exempt includes that the Primary Determination (to be amended by the Amendment Determination), by providing a list of goods or classes of goods that involve a high level of biosecurity risk, enables the government to take decisive action, and make technically and scientifically based decisions to manage biosecurity risks, and uphold the objectives of the biosecurity framework. To maintain a high level of accountability, the Act prohibits delegation of the power to make the instrument below the level of a Senior Executive Service officer. The Determination reflects the policy position that goods that are assessed as posing a high level of biosecurity risk when travellers fail to declare them upon arrival in Australia should attract a higher infringement notice amount. Category 1 goods are the classes of goods that the Director of Biosecurity has determined, based on relevant risk assessments, pose the highest level of biosecurity risk in this context.
Identification of goods or classes of goods posing a high level of biosecurity risk is a technical and scientific decision based on whether the biosecurity risk is satisfactorily managed within the objective standards established by the Act. It is critical to the management of biosecurity risks that such technical and scientific assessments are implemented.
As the Amendment Determination is exempt from disallowance, a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is not required in accordance with paragraph 15J(2)(f) of the Legislation Act and subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
The Amendment Determination commences on the day after registration.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Amendment (Specified Countries No. 1) Determination 2026
Part 1—Preliminary
Section 1 – Name
Section 1 provides that the name of this instrument is the Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Amendment (Specified Countries No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amendment Determination).
Section 2 – Commencement
Section 2 provides that the whole of the Amendment Determination commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 – Authority
Section 3 provides that this instrument is made under subsection 524A(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Act).
Subsection 524A(1) of the Act provides that the Director of Biosecurity may determine a list of classes of goods for the purposes of section 524 of the Act. Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that a legislative power to make a legislative instrument includes a power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any), to amend the instrument. The power in section 524A of the Act is subject to a requirement that the Director of Biosecurity must be satisfied that there is a high level of biosecurity risk associated with the classes of goods listed in the determination. Section 541 of the Act requires that, when exercising a power under the Act, the Director of Biosecurity must have regards to the objects of the Act.
Section 4 – Schedules
This section provides for the amendment or repeal of instruments as set out in a Schedule to the Amendment Determination. Schedule 1 to the Amendment Determination provides for amendments of the Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Determination 2025 (the Principal Determination).
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Biosecurity (2026 Infringement Notices) Determination 2025
Item [1] – Schedule 1
This item omits the references to Cyprus and Greece in clause 1 of Schedule 1 of the Principal Determination. This amendment is made on the basis of evidence of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Greece and Cyprus and the assessment that there is now a high level of biosecurity risk associated with meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from Cyprus and Greece.
Schedule 1 specifies countries that the Director of Biosecurity was satisfied, at the time of making the Principal Determination, were free from foot and mouth disease. Paragraphs 6(2)(b), 6(2)(d), 6(2)(e) and 6(2)(f) of the Determination refer to ‘a country specified in Schedule 1’, in specifying the categories of goods to which paragraph 6(1)(c) does not apply, and therefore which are not category 1 or category 2 goods.
Whether a country is free from foot and mouth disease is determined through an assessment and verification process of a country’s overall animal health status and controls, animal production, inspection and certification systems, disease reporting obligations and the country’s competent authority to prevent foot and mouth disease outbreaks. There is a reduced likelihood of foot and mouth disease entering Australia through goods from countries which are free from foot and mouth disease.
As Cyprus and Greece are no longer free of foot and mouth disease, the level of biosecurity risk associated with meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from these countries has been assessed as high. It is therefore appropriate to remove these countries from Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination. The amendment has the effect that 12 penalty units is payable for an infringement notice for providing false or misleading information or documents in relation to meat and meat products (other than retorted meat) from Cyprus or Greece.