EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by Authority of the Director of Biosecurity
Biosecurity Act 2015
Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Determination 2026
Legislative Authority
The Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amendment Determination) is made under section 227 of the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Biosecurity Act). The Amendment Determination makes amendments to the Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Determination 2022 (the Sydney Airport Determination), which is made under subsection 223(1) of the Biosecurity Act.
Section 227 of the Biosecurity Act provides that if a determination is made under subsection 223(1) in relation to a landing place, the Director who made the determination may vary or revoke the determination, or vary the conditions specified in the determination (including by imposing new conditions), if the Director is satisfied of any of the matters set out in paragraphs 227(a) to (e) of the Biosecurity Act.
Paragraph 227(e) of the Biosecurity Act provides that one of these matters is that a circumstance prescribed by the regulations has occurred. Paragraph 57(a) of the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (the Biosecurity Regulation) provides that a circumstance in which the Director may vary or revoke a determination, or vary the conditions of a determination, under section 227 of the Biosecurity Act in relation to a landing place is that there has been a material change in the operations carried out at the landing place. There has been a material change in the operations carried out at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in that Jet Aviation, the operator of the Jet Aviation Terminal biosecurity entry point (BEP), ceased operations at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport as of 30 November 2025.
Purpose
The purpose of the Amendment Determination is to vary the Sydney Airport Determination to remove Jet Aviation Terminal as a BEP for baggage.
Background
The Biosecurity Act provides the regulatory framework for the management of diseases and pests that may cause harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment, and provides the Commonwealth with powers to assess and manage biosecurity risk, among other things. ‘Biosecurity risk’ is defined in section 9 of the Biosecurity Act.
On 21 November 2022, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport was determined by a delegate of the Director of Biosecurity as a first point of entry for aircraft generally, and designated Jet Aviation Terminal, along with other locations at the airport, as a BEP for baggage. The Sydney Airport Determination commenced on 1 December 2022.
The operator at Jet Aviation Terminal ceased operations at Jet Aviation Terminal as of 30 November 2025.
For the purposes of the Amendment Determination, the delegate of the Director of Biosecurity was satisfied that this was a circumstance prescribed by the Regulation, as it was a material change in operations at the airport (see paragraph 57(a) of the Biosecurity Regulation). The delegate could, therefore, consider whether to vary the Sydney Airport Determination (see paragraph 227(e) of the Biosecurity Act).
As operations have ceased at Jet Aviation Terminal, Jet Aviation Terminal is no longer a BEP for baggage.
The delegate of the Director of Biosecurity has therefore varied the Sydney Airport Determination for the purposes of section 227 of the Biosecurity Act to remove Jet Aviation Terminal as a BEP for baggage.
Impact and Effect
The Amendment Determination amends the Sydney Airport Determination to remove “Jet Aviation Terminal” as a BEP for baggage. As a result, baggage is no longer permitted to be unloaded at Jet Aviation Terminal.
Consultation
In considering whether to make the Amendment Determination to remove Jet Aviation Terminal as a BEP for baggage at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, the department engaged in consultation directly with Jet Aviation, the operator at Jet Aviation Terminal to confirm that operations would no longer be conducted at Jet Aviation Terminal as of 30 November 2025. Sydney Airport Corporation Limited, the operator of the first point of entry, was also consulted on the Amendment Determination.
The information gathered from Jet Aviation has informed the decision that the Sydney Airport Determination be varied so that Jet Aviation Terminal is removed as a BEP for baggage.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has also been consulted in relation to the Amendment Determination and provided a letter of endorsement on 17 December 2025.
Details/ Operation
The Amendment Determination commences on the day after registration.
Details of the Amendment Determination are set out in the Attachment.
Other
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument, but under paragraph 228(b) of the Biosecurity Act, section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act) does not apply to the Determination.
The exemption from disallowance for the instrument is set out in primary legislation. The justification for the exemption includes that determinations of first points of entry and variations of such determinations implement technically and scientifically based decisions to manage biosecurity risks arising from aircraft, and the goods they carry, arriving in Australian territory from overseas, and thereby enables the government to uphold the objectives of the biosecurity framework.
Varying the Sydney Airport Determination to remove Jet Aviation Terminal as a BEP for baggage is a decision based on whether the biosecurity risk is able to be satisfactorily managed. As the operator at Jet Aviation Terminal advised that it no longer conducts operations at Jet Aviation Terminal as of 30 November 2025, there are no longer adequate facilities, amenities and procedures in place to support biosecurity risk management at Jet Aviation Terminal. Due to operations no longer being conducted at Jet Aviation Terminal as of 30 November 2025, if Jet Aviation Terminal continued to be designated as a BEP, this would lead to inadequate management of the biosecurity risk posed to human, plant and animal health, Australia’s local industries, the environment and the economy. It is critical to the management of biosecurity risks that the variation to the Determination is implemented effectively.
It is also critical that stakeholders who make decisions in reliance on the Sydney Airport Determination have certainty as to first point of entry arrangements, including arrangements in relation to BEPs. A lack of certainty could cause confusion and disruption, and potentially undermine Australia’s biosecurity framework. For example, neither aircraft travelling to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport nor biosecurity officials at that landing place could be certain of arrangements upon arrival in relation to which BEP to use until after the expiry of a disallowance period, were the Determination to be disallowable.
A statement of compatibility with human rights is not required to be prepared under subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as the Amendment Determination is not disallowable. Paragraph 15J(2)(f) of the Legislation Act does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights to be included in this explanatory statement for the same reason.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Determination 2026
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amendment Determination).
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that each provision of the Amendment Determination specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Item 1 in the table provides that the whole of the Amendment Determination commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The note below the table provides that the table relates only to the provisions of the Amendment Determination as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of the Amendment Determination. The purpose of this note is to clarify that the commencement of any amendments is not reflected in this table.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Amendment Determination is made under section 227 of the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Biosecurity 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 (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Determination 2022 (the Sydney Airport Determination).
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) Determination 2022
Item [1] – Section 8 (table item 1, column 2, paragraph (b))
Section 8 of the Sydney Airport Determination provides that each area of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport specified in column 2 of an item in the table is designated as a biosecurity entry point (BEP) for goods, or goods included in a class of goods, specified in column 1 of the item.
Item 1 amends column 2 of table item 1 in section 8 of the Sydney Airport Determination to omit paragraph (b).
The effect of this amendment is that Jet Aviation Terminal is no longer an area that is designated as a BEP for baggage arriving at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.
Jet Aviation Terminal is removed as a BEP for baggage as the operator at Jet Aviation Terminal has ceased operations at the terminal.
“Biosecurity entry point” is defined in sections 9 and 13 of the Biosecurity Act, for relevant goods as, relevantly, an area of a landing place that is designated, under paragraph 224(b) of the Biosecurity Act, as a BEP for those goods or a class of goods that includes those goods. Paragraph 224(b) of the Biosecurity Act provides in effect that a first point of entry determination made in relation to a landing place may designate a specified area of the landing place as a BEP for specified goods, or a specified class of goods, that are subject to biosecurity control or in relation to which an exposed goods order is in force.
“Baggage” is defined in section 9 of the Biosecurity Act to mean goods that are carried on a conveyance by or for a person who is on board the conveyance (including the person in charge and members of the crew of the conveyance) or that a person intended to be so carried.
The effect of section 147 of the Biosecurity Act is that, unless limited exceptions apply, where a BEP has been designated for goods, the person in charge of the aircraft arriving at a first point of entry (in this case, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) must ensure that the goods that are to be unloaded from the aircraft are brought to the BEP for those goods as soon as practicable. As Jet Aviation Terminal is no longer a BEP for baggage, baggage arriving at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport must not be brought to Jet Aviation Terminal.