Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) 2022

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022

## What it does
This law tightens Australia's defenses against diseases and pests entering the country through imported goods, ships, and cargo. It gives biosecurity officials stronger powers to inspect, report on, and control incoming shipments before they arrive, and increases penalties for people who break biosecurity rules.

## Why it matters
Australia's farming, horticulture, and wildlife are vulnerable to exotic pests and diseases that could cost billions to control if they establish here. Stronger biosecurity means less chance of things like foot-and-mouth disease, fruit flies, or plant blights sneaking in and devastating local industries or the environment.

## Key details
- **Tougher penalties**: Companies and individuals who ignore biosecurity rules now face larger fines and stricter enforcement
- **Pre-arrival information**: Ships and importers must report cargo details before they reach Australia, giving authorities time to prepare inspections
- **Audits and compensation**: Biosecurity officials can audit approved import arrangements, and goods damaged or destroyed during biosecurity checks can trigger compensation claims
- **Staged rollout**: Most changes start immediately after the bill passes, though some provisions (like pre-arrival reporting rules) have up to 6 months to be activated by the government

Official Description

Amends the Biosecurity Act 2015 to: enable the minister to determine certain biosecurity measures and requirements for individuals or classes of individuals who are entering Australian territory for the purposes of preventing a disease or pest that is considered to pose an unacceptable biosecurity threat, and establish civil penalty provisions for noncompliance; expand pre-arrival reporting requirements for aircraft and vessels; strengthen penalties for non-compliance with negative pratique requirements; provide for the use and disclosure of certain information, including protected information; increase civil and criminal penalties for contraventions of certain requirements in relation to goods and conveyances; amend the process for making certain determinations specifying prohibited, conditionally non-prohibited and suspended goods or granting permits based on risk assessments; provide legislative authority for expenditure for biosecurity-related programs and activities and provide for additional annual reporting; and amend provisions relating to approved arrangements, administration, auditing and consideration of compensation claims.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

28 Sept 2022

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

5 Dec 2022

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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