Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Land
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Plant health
    • Drought and rural support
    • Mouse infestation advice
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water resources for agriculture, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Biodiversity
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade Lowering biosecurity risks to Australia, and assisting industry to accelerate growth towards a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Invasive species
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Wildlife trade
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Our science strategy
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us Enhancing Australia’s agriculture, environment, heritage and water resources through regulation and partnership.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    A day in the life

    A day in the life...

    Our video series showcases the diverse and important work we do.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Import
  4. Importing goods
  5. Plants and plant products
  6. Live plants
  7. Changes to import requirements to protect against Xylella

Sidebar first - Import

  • Live plants
    • Approved sources of Phalaenopsis
    • Approved sources of tissue cultures free of media
    • Changes to import requirements to protect against Xylella
    • Live plant forms

Changes to import requirements to protect against Xylella

Emergency measures are being introduced in May 2022 to manage the risk of Xylella in Carya spp. and related genera imported as seeds for sowing. For further information, refer to our BICON Alert and follow the instructions to keep updated on these changes, including when the changes will commence.

This webpage is currently under development to include the additional measures for seeds. In the interim, the information contained in this page is limited to requirements under the emergency measures for live plant (nursery stock).

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment maintains a range of import requirements for a number of plant species to safeguard Australia against the bacterial plant pathogen, Xylella (Xylella fastidiosa).

About Xylella and its risk to Australia’s plant industries

Xylella is a serious plant bacteria that affects a large number of common plants species including:

  • wine and table grapes
  • citrus
  • olives
  • forestry and amenity trees
  • almonds
  • cherries
  • peaches
  • plums
  • avocados
  • blueberries
  • coffee
  • pecans
  • alfalfa.

Xylella is not present in Australia but is of major concern to Australia’s plant industries. If it gets into Australia it will be practically impossible to eradicate.

This bacterial disease originated in the Americas and has spread to Europe with recent detections in Spain, Portugal and Israel. In the Americas it is causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Costs to California’s grapevines alone amount to $100 million per year.

Australia's import requirements

Emergency measures are currently in place to manage the risk of Xylella being introduced in imported host plants. These measures apply to tissue cultures, rooted plants, cuttings, budwood, some corms and bulbs being imported from the Americas, Europe and a number of countries in the Middle East and Asia, where the disease is known to be present.

These emergency measures were introduced to strengthen previous import conditions that were put in place for Xylella and provide assurance that at-risk material is free from Xylella infection.

  • The additional import requirements came into effect on 19 November 2015 for regulated families imported from high risk countries.
  • Country freedom certification requirements for low risk countries commenced on 19 January 2016.
  • Due to new information on the host range of Xylella, emergency measures were expanded to include nine (9) new plant families on 3 August 2020.
  • In June 2021, emergency measures were expanded to seven (7) new plant families at risk of Xylella infection.
  • In November 2021, emergency measures were further expanded to the plant family Hypericaceae.

Key import requirements to manage the risk of Xylella include:

  1. Nursery stock and plant material grown in countries or regions where Xylella occurs will need to be tested offshore in accordance with Australia’s requirements, and certified as free from Xylella by the government of the exporting country.
  2. Material that does not meet the above requirements may be held and tested in an approved post-entry quarantine facility for 12 months or nursery stock material may be hot water treated, followed by standard post-entry quarantine screening arrangements.
  3. An offshore approved arrangement in accordance with Australia’s requirements to ensure the health of plants will need to be in place for offshore certification of nursery stock from high risk countries.

The volumes of some ornamental plant material and tree species permitted entry to Australia may be reduced, and the costs of importing might increase. This is because laboratory testing will be required and longer observation times in quarantine may be necessary.

Some plant species currently categorised as high risk nursery stock are not affected by the changes because Xylella testing arrangements are already in place.

Phytosanitary certification will also be required for plants being imported from countries where Xylella does not occur, because we want assurance that these countries are free of the bacteria.

What you need to do

If you want to import plants into Australia, it is important that you check BICON before applying for an import permit.

If you have any additional enquiries contact the Plant Import Operations branch.

Related information

  • Notification of amended emergency quarantine measures for plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa
  • Xylella and exotic vectors – Fact sheet
  • Xylella fastidiosa – Plant Health Australia

Contacts

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 16 May 2022

© Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.