Travellers
Biosecurity is good for our borders
Practicing good biosecurity means taking action to protect our borders from the negative impacts of pests, diseases, weeds, and contaminants.
Being biosecure will help ensure pests, diseases and weeds don’t travel with you as you visit different areas of Australia, helping minimise the risk to Australia’s unique environments and valuable agricultural markets.
Everyday good practices are all part of being biosecure. This includes: 
- Check what you are taking with you across state and quarantine borders, and finding out if there any restrictions
- Following the rules about moving these items (eg. produce and animals) to avoid on-the-spot fines for taking prohibited items across borders
- Preventing the spread of disease and pests by checking shoes and other items that may have picked up unwanted hitchhikers.
More about interstate quarantine
The essentials
There are certain actions anyone who travels interstate and across quarantine borders MUST legally take in order to be biosecure. These are detailed in the Biosecurity Act 2015 and supporting legislation.
The laws cover things that are likely to have the biggest impact on our economy, environment or community. They include rules around:
- High risk and priority pests and diseases that MUST be reported - these are known as ‘notifiable pests and diseases’, ‘prohibited matter’ and ‘biosecurity events’
- Controlling the movement, keeping and release of pest animals
- Controlling the movement, treatment and importation of plants
- Having the right accreditation, registrations, certificates and permits
Visit the Interstate Quarantine website and the Biosecurity policies and procedures page for more.
Your general biosecurity duty
As well as prescribing the rules for high risk biosecurity matter, the Biosecurity Act 2015 includes a biosecurity duty for anyone who travels across interstate and quarantine borders, and everyone who deals with biosecurity matter.
This means that all tiers of government, industry and the people of NSW need to work together to protect the economy, environment and community from the negative impacts of pests, diseases, and weeds and contaminants.
This means you need to:
- Be aware of what you have packed and are carrying and the risks this may present.
- Find out whether any of the things you are carrying are restricted or prohibited.
- Follow the interstate quarantine rules and take effective action to manage the other risks relevant to you.
Visit the General biosecurity duty page for more information.
Visit the Interstate Quarantine website and the Biosecurity policies and procedures page for more.
