Biosecurity Act 2025

For the purposes of this Act, a specified biosecurity requirement means any measure, prescription, rule, duty or other requirement imposed by, or under, this Act or any other Act that requires a person or class of persons to do 1 or more of the following for the purpose, whether express or implied, of preventing, eliminating, minimising, controlling or managing a biosecurity risk or potential biosecurity risk:

to take specified action or to do a specified thing;

to refrain from engaging in a specified action or from doing a specified thing;

to adopt, comply with or implement any standard, code, guideline, program or other specification;

to comply with any condition, order, determination, direction, permit, notice or other instrument made or issued under this Act or any other Act.

For the purposes of this Act—

the general biosecurity duty is not a specified biosecurity requirement;

and

a specified biosecurity requirement is part of the general biosecurity duty.

If—

a person fails to comply with an applicable specified biosecurity requirement in respect of a biosecurity matter, carrier or dealing;

and

that failure is an offence under both section 41 and another provision of this Act or any other Act, the person may be charged with, and convicted of, each applicable offence in respect of the failure but may only be sentenced in respect of the most serious offence.

To avoid doubt, compliance with each applicable specified biosecurity requirement in respect of biosecurity matter, carrier or dealing may not, of itself, discharge the general biosecurity duty in respect of that biosecurity matter, carrier or dealing.