Plant biosecurity permits

Are you importing items into NSW that pose a risk of introducing a pest of disease?

Several acts of parliament in NSW including the Plant Diseases Act 1924 and the Noxious Weeds Act 1993 regulate the bringing into NSW of items that pose a risk of introducing a pest, disease, or weed that is not present in NSW. It is your responsibility to identify the regulatory requirements associated with importing items into NSW. This website provides a guide to the regulatory requirements associated with some common items that are imported into NSW.

Certification/Inspection requirements for common items imported into NSW

Item	From	Regulated Pest/Disease	Do I need certification or inspection?
Grain harvesting machinery	Western Australia, South Australia	Lupin Anthracnose Proclamation P129	A permit must be obtained from NSW DPI
Grain harvesting machinery	Queensland	Parthenium Weed	Border Inspection (see below)
Grapes and grapevine plant material of any kind, vineyard equipment, and related products	Movement requirements for grapes, grapevine plant material of any kind, vineyard equipment, and related products are determined based on the presence or absence of the pest Grapevine Phylloxera at the origin and destination. See the Summary of Phylloxera Movement Conditions and Current Maps for further information. Additional treatments are needed when grapes are moved from within a current Queensland Fruit Fly outbreak.	Grapevine Phylloxera Proclamation P176 Directors Approval P176/09/02 Queensland Fruit Fly Proclamations P184 Directors Approval P184/08/01 Proclamation P191 Directors Approval P191/08/01	Summary of Phylloxera Movement Conditions Permit may be required
Earth moving machinery	Queensland	Red Imported Fire Ant Proclamation P125 Directors Approval P125/09/01	Directors Approval P125/09/01 Certification may be required
Soil	All States	Various	Permit may be required

Other commonly imported items that may require a permit include pot plants, turf, fruit, potatoes including seed potatoes, rice and associated machinery, and containerised trees.

Permits

A permit is a written approval issued by an inspector of NSW DPI. Anyone who has not previously applied for a permit is advised to contact Plant Biosecurity on 02 6391 3244. A general application form is available for all machinery movements. Download this form, complete it and fax to 02 6391 3206 or scan and email to plant.permits@industry.nsw.gov.au.

Machinery movement application form 623.6 KB
Guide to completing the machinery movement application form 61.0 KB

For all other permit enquiries, contact Plant Biosecurity by calling 02 6391 3412 or 02 6391 3244 during business hours, or email your enquiry to plant.permits@industry.nsw.gov.au

Border Inspection for Parthenium Weed

Before bringing grain harvesting equipment into NSW, you must contact the relevant crossing office and arrange for an inspection at the border.
Regulated items include:

Grain harvesters including comb and trailer
Grain bins
Augers or similar
Pilot vehicles and vehicles transporting the harvesting equipment.

A permit will be issued to allow for movement of equipment within NSW upon passing inspection. Inspection is mandatory and moving a header or associated machinery from Qld anywhere in NSW without a permit is an offence. 48 hours notice is required for inspection during busy times.

See below for contact telephone numbers to arrange an inspection.

	Inspectors	Phone/Fax	Mobile
Goondiwindi	Nola Farrawell	07 4671 1227	0427 722 075
Goondiwindi	Mick Brennan		0427 762 509
Tallwood	Bev & Peter Schnitzerling	07 4677 1183
Mungindi	Marie Nolan	02 6753 2323	0428 532 018
Mungindi	Vida Faulkner		0429 484 246
Hebel	Chris Conolly	07 4625 0916	0429 650 642
Hebel	Shelley Johnston	07 4625 0917
Bourke	Don MacKenzie		0428 225 498

For further enquiries about Parthenium Weed inspections contact Geoff Payne on 02 6626 1246 or 0428 678 311.

Interstate Contact Details

The importer must ensure that they meet the requirements for any State or Territory through which the consignment passes while in transit to NSW.

Northern Territory (www.nt.gov.au) (08) 8999 2138

South Australia (www.pir.sa.gov.au) 1300 666 010

Victoria (www.new.dpi.vic.gov.au) 136 186

Queensland (www.dpi.qld.gov.au) (07) 3404 6999

Western Australia (www.agric.wa.gov.au) (08) 9334 1800

Tasmania (www.dpiw.tas.gov.au) 1300 368 550

Australian Capital Territory (www.tams.act.gov.au) (02) 6207 6376