Introduction of Biosecurity Imports Levy for Sea Freight in July 2019

The Federal Government is planning to introduce new measures to recover increased biosecurity import costs due to enhanced risks that have been detected within the 2017 review of Australia’s biosecurity system.

The Biosecurity Imports Levy would apply to sea freight imports (containers and non-containerised) to Australia starting from 1 July 2019.

The current proposal includes a fee of $10.02 per TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent sea container) with an equivalent $1.00 per tonne for non-containerised sea cargo.

The plan is to apply the fee to port terminal operators.

Due to the 2017 biosecurity system review, the increase of import volumes has resulted in higher biosecurity risks. The aim is to adopt new technologies and intensify biosecurity actions to “detect, identify and respond to exotic pests and diseases earlier […] and more efficiently.”

For more details please visit:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/reporting/budget/import-levy