National biosecurity in Australia is governed and administered by two federal government departments, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The Biosecurity Act 2015 (C'wealth) and related legislation is administered by the two departments and manages biosecurity risks at the national border. The Act aims to manage biosecurity risks to human health, agriculture, native flora and fauna and the environment. It also covers Australia's international rights and obligations, and lists specific diseases which are contagious and capable of causing severe harm to human health. Each state and territory has additional legislation and protocols to cover biosecurity in their jurisdiction (post-border) including the detection of pests and diseases that have breached the national border.
The Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB) created a framework for governments to coordinate and identify priority areas of reform and action to build a stronger and more effective national biosecurity system, and established the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) in 2012.
Background The term "biosecurity" was initially used in a narrower sense, to describe preventative and quarantine procedures put in place to minimise the risk of damage to crops, livestock and the environment by invasive pests or diseases that might enter any location. However, the term has evolved to include the oversight and control of biological threats to people and industries as well, including those from pandemic diseases and bioterrorism, whatever or wherever the origin of the organism causing the damage. Biosecurity is now understood as a process involving a defined set of measures and management strategies, designed not only to stop undesirable organisms from getting into the country, but also to quickly discover and eradicate them, or, if eradication proves impossible, to reduce their impact as much as possible.
Australia is to some degree protected from exotic pests and diseases by its geographic isolation, but with its island form comes a huge length of border (the coastline), with the sixth longest coastline in the world, at .
History of governance Legislation
In 2015, the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Commonwealth) replaced the Quarantine Act 1908, which was wholly repealed on 16 June 2016 by the Biosecurity (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2015. The new Act was a major reform of the Quarantine Act, in particular in its strengthening and modernising the existing framework of regulations governing biosecurity in Australia. New requirements included how the then Department of Agriculture and Water Resources would manage biosecurity risks associated with goods, people and vessels entering Australia.
The Biosecurity Bill 2014 passed through parliament on 14 May 2015 with bipartisan support, as possibly "one of the most substantial and significant pieces of legislation to pass through Parliament during the term of the [Abbott] Government". The Act did not radically change operational functions, but were more clearly described, with the aim of being easier to use and reducing the complexity of administering it. The main change relate was the compliance and enforcement of powers.
As recommended by the Beale Review (One Biosecurity: A Working Partnership, Roger Beale et al., 2008 Full text here) and the earlier Nairn Report, the Act effected a risk-based approach, but includes several measures to manage unacceptable levels of biosecurity risk.
Each State and Territory has either a single Biosecurity Act or a suite of biosecurity-related statutes to manage biosecurity within Australia.
Administration From August 2007 until September 2009, Biosecurity Australia, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, provided science-based quarantine assessments and policy advice to protect plant and animal health in Australia, in order to protect the Australian agricultural economy and to enhance Australia's access to international animal- and plant-related markets. Import risk assessments (IRAs) by Biosecurity Australia included a variety of flora and fauna.
In September 2009, a division of DAFF known as Biosecurity Services Group took over its functions.
DAFF became the Department of Agriculture in September 2013, followed by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in September 2015, and then the Department of Agriculture (Australia, 2019–20), each of which was responsible for biosecurity.
Current federal governance National biosecurity in Australia is governed and administered by two federal departments, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. They administer and enforce the various pieces of legislation in the Biosecurity Act 2015 and related ordinances, determinations and instruments.
Human health The Department of Health defines biosecurity as "all the measures taken to minimise the risk of infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria or other micro-organisms entering, emerging, establishing or spreading in Australia, potentially harming the Australian population, our food security and economy". These risks may enter Australia after people enter the countries from other places (whether on holiday or any other reason), having developed infections through food, water, insect bites, or contact with animals or other people. Often the infection is unknown because it is not obvious, and the infected person is not aware of it themselves, until they become unwell some time later. Some of these diseases may be serious, and biosecurity measures are necessary to ensure that the infection does not spread throughout the population.
The Act lists specific diseases (Listed Human Diseases, or LHDs) which are contagious and can cause significant harm to human health; , these LHDs include:
human influenza with pandemic potential plague severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) smallpox viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHDs) yellow fever human coronavirus with pandemic potential
Biosecurity Officers from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry must be informed by any aircraft captain or ship's master, should any of their passengers show signs of an infectious disease.
Human biosecurity in Australia covers protective measures enforced at the border, travel information and warnings, the import and export of human remains, national public health emergency response planning at the borders and Australia's international obligations, in particular the International Health Regulations (IHR). A Joint External Evaluation (JEE) e following the 2013–2016 Western African Ebola virus epidemic showed that Australia has very high level of capacity of response. Australia's National Action Plan for Health Security 2019–2023 was developed to help to implement the recommendations from the JEE. National Action Plan for Health Security 2019-2023, December 2018 Management of ill travellers is one aspect of human biosecurity management; prevention of potential disease vectors (such as exotic mosquitoes) is another.
COVID-19 pandemic
One of the biggest threats to human health in the history of Australia arose with the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in March 2020. The Federal Government under Scott Morrison invoked the Biosecurity Act 2015 to announce a state of emergency, and brought in various measures to restrict the movement of people in and out of Australia.
On 30 April 2021, following a dramatic rise in cases in a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government announced a ban on Australian citizens and permanent residents in India from entering Australia via any route, between 3 May and 15 May. Those caught returning from India to Australia via any route would be subject to punishment under the Biosecurity Act, with penalties for breaches including up to five years' jail, a fine of , or both. On 7 May 2021 Morrison announced that the flight ban would end on 15 May and that repatriation flights to the Northern Territory would start on this date.
Agriculture Animals Animal biosecurity involves protecting livestock, wildlife, humans and the environment from new diseases or pests. Australia has remained free of many of the serious animal diseases, such as foot and mouth disease and avian influenza (bird flu), but occurrence of one of these diseases would result in significant damage to the economy, as trade would have to be ceased in the affected products. Australia has already experienced outbreaks of animal disease events such as the 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak and when bird flu was found on poultry farms in New South Wales, leading to widespread culling.
New diseases in livestock, often first arising in wild species, may also affect human health, when they are known as zoonotic diseases. These include bird flu, SARS and Hendra virus, the effects of which can be deadly.
In November 2016, white spot virus was detected on a prawn farm on the Logan River in south-east Queensland for the first time in the country. By March 2021 it was also being detected in Deception Bay and was widespread in Moreton Bay, in the Brisbane area. The federal government was reviewing its import requirements, and farmers and fishers were lobbying for the inclusion of a requirement that imported prawns should be cooked.
Plants Plant industries, in particular the wheat industry and also horticulture, wine, cotton and sugar industries, can be negatively impacted by pests and diseases, as they lead to poorer quality food, less of it, higher costs to produce it, and reduced trade. Australia has remained free of many of the most harmful pest species, such as citrus greening and varroa mite (with Australia the only continent free of this pest affecting honeybee productivity).
Food safety
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is also responsible for food safety coordination in Australia with State and Territory Governments responsible for ensuring food safety standards and recalls. It works with industry and other government agencies, in particular the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), to develop policy and food standards, and the regulatory system involves the governments of Australia, New Zealand and the Australian states and territories. The department administers relevant legislation at the Australian border, and imported food must meet Australia's biosecurity requirements under the Biosecurity Act 2015, as well as food safety requirements of the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
Agricultural and environmental biosecurity coordination Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB) The Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB) was created in January 2012. It was an agreement between the federal, state and territory governments, with the exception of Tasmania, intended to "improve the national biosecurity system by identifying the roles and responsibilities of governments and outline the priority areas for collaboration to minimise the impact of pests and disease on Australia's economy, environment and the community". It was focussed on controlling animal and plant pests rather than human biosecurity, as it was considered that this aspect was already covered by existing agreements, and set out to improve collaboration and understanding of shared responsibilities among all parties, including industry stakeholders.