Biosecurity Act 2019

Biosecurity Act 2019

This Act may be cited as the Biosecurity Act 2019.

The provisions of this Act commence on a day or days to be proclaimed.

The objects of this Act are –

to ensure that responsibility for biosecurity is shared between government, industry and the community; and to protect Tasmania from – pests, diseases and other biosecurity matters that are economically significant for Tasmania; and threats to terrestrial and aquatic environments arising from pests, diseases and other biosecurity matters; and risks to public health and safety arising from pests, diseases and other biosecurity matters known to have an adverse effect on human health; and pests, diseases and other biosecurity matters that may have an adverse effect on public amenities, community activities and infrastructure; and to provide a regulatory framework in relation to biosecurity that – facilitates emergency preparedness and the effective management of biosecurity emergencies that may affect Tasmania; and takes account of regional and local differences in respect of biosecurity risks and biosecurity impacts; and supports an evidence-based approach to the assessment, prevention and management of biosecurity risks and biosecurity impacts; and does not require a biosecurity risk to be proven with full certainty before taking reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk; and to give effect to – biosecurity-related strategies and policies developed, or endorsed, by the Tasmanian Government; and intergovernmental agreements related to biosecurity to which Tasmania is a party; and to facilitate the trade of Tasmanian produce by ensuring that it meets national and international biosecurity requirements; and to promote compliance with the general biosecurity duty through emergency preparedness, effective enforcement measures, and communication and collaboration between government, industry and the community.

A person performing a function under this Act is to ensure that –

the performance of the function is likely to further – the objects of this Act; and the resource management and planning system objectives as set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993; and the performance of the function is appropriate and adapted to achieving its purpose and is within his or her authority under this Act; and in the reasonable opinion of the person, the manner of performing the function is no more intrusive, restrictive or expensive than is required in the circumstances; and the performance of the function does not, or is not likely to, unreasonably endanger the health or safety of a person; and if the performance of the function involves an animal, the performance of the function does not, or is not likely to, cause unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering to the animal.

Unless the contrary intention appears, this Act is in addition to, and does not derogate from, the provisions of any other Act.

It is the intention of Parliament that the operation of this Act should, so far as possible, operate in relation to each of the following:

land situated outside Tasmania, whether in or outside Australia;

persons or things situated outside Tasmania, whether in or outside Australia;

acts, transactions and matters done, entered into and occurring outside Tasmania, whether in or outside Australia;

persons, things, acts, transactions and matters (wherever situated, done, entered into or occurring) that would, apart from this Act, be governed or otherwise affected by the law of the Commonwealth, another State or a foreign country.

This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – accreditation audit– see section 145; accreditation authority– see section 139; accreditation policy means a policy, referred to in clause 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 1, that is approved by the Secretary as required under that Schedule; act includes an omission; animal means any of the following, whether alive or dead:a member of the animal kingdom, other than a human, including an amphibian, bird, crustacean, fish, insect, mammal, mollusc, reptile and any other vertebrate or invertebrate member of the animal kingdom; an egg, embryo, ovum or sperm of such a member of the animal kingdom; a carcass, or part of a carcass, of such a member of the animal kingdom; animal disease means a disease of, or capable of infecting, an animal; animal food means fodder, animal products or other materials that are fed to an animal or are intended to be consumed by, or fed to, an animal; animal product includes – the hide, skin, hair, wool, feather, shell, horn, scale, fin or hoof of an animal; and any part of the viscera or offal of an animal; and meat, fat, eggs, honey, milk, whey, cream, butter, cheese and other primary produce derived from an animal; and the urine, faeces, bone or blood of an animal, or any article or substance derived from the urine, faeces, bone or blood of an animal; and any secretion or excretion of an animal; and any product or biological preparation prepared, or derived, from any tissue, secretion, excretion or other part of an animal; and any other prescribed thing;Appeal Tribunal means the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal; approved biosecurity program means a program approved by the Minister under Division 1 of Part 9; assess includes investigate; audit frequency policy means a policy adopted under section 153 that is approved by the Secretary as required under that section; audit target means the person who is the subject of a biosecurity audit; authorised analyst mean a person appointed as an authorised analyst under section 40; authorised officer means – the Chief Veterinary Officer and Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer; and the Chief Plant Protection Officer and Deputy Chief Plant Protection Officer; and a police officer; and a person appointed as an authorised officer under section 31; authorised purpose– see section 41;Biosecurity Advisory Committee means the Biosecurity Advisory Committee established by the Minister under section 267(1); biosecurity audit– see section 141; biosecurity auditor– see section 34; biosecurity certificate means a certificate issued under section 158; biosecurity certifier– see section 38; biosecurity compendium means the compendium kept in accordance with section 9; biosecurity control agreement means a written agreement made in accordance with Division 3 of Part 9; biosecurity direction means a direction given under Division 3 of Part 11; biosecurity duty means a duty referred to in section 73(1); biosecurity emergency means an emergency arising from a biosecurity risk or biosecurity impact; biosecurity emergency (response and cost-sharing) agreement means an agreement – to which Tasmania is a party; and that furthers the objects of this Act; and that has been certified by the Minister to be a biosecurity emergency (response and cost-sharing) agreement for the purposes of this Act; biosecurity event– see section 10; biosecurity impact– see section 11; biosecurity matter– see section 12; biosecurity registration means registration granted under Part 6; biosecurity risk means a risk of a biosecurity impact occurring; biosecurity risk function means a function under this Act relating to the prevention, elimination, minimisation, control or management of a biosecurity risk or biosecurity impact; biosecurity undertaking– see section 201; biosecurity zone– see section 128; biosecurity zone measure– see section 129; carrier– see section 13;Chief Plant Protection Officer means a person appointed as Chief Plant Protection Officer under section 27;Chief Veterinary Officer means a person appointed as Chief Veterinary Officer under section 29; compliance audit– see section 150; conduct includes any act; contaminant means any non-living thing – occurring in, or on, biosecurity matter or a carrier; or that may be ingested, or absorbed, by biosecurity matter or a carrier; control, in relation to a thing, includes to contain the thing; control order means an order made under section 177(1); corresponding law means a law of another State or the Commonwealth – that corresponds to the provisions of this Act; or is prescribed as a corresponding law; cost recovery order means an order made under section 211(1); critical non-compliance means any thing, or act, prescribed as critical non-compliance; data has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act 2000; deal– see section 14;Department means the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment or such other department as is prescribed;Department website means the website available to the public that is operated by, or on behalf of, the Department;Deputy Chief Plant Protection Officer means a person appointed as Deputy Chief Plant Protection Officer under section 28;Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer means a person appointed as Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer under section 30; director has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act; disease includes the following:an infection or infestation of an organism having the potential to result in, or resulting in, an abnormal, pathological or unhealthy condition, that is caused by a disease agent or pest; a syndrome, or a clinically identifiable set of signs or symptoms in an organism, for which the cause is known or unknown; a disease agent; any other prescribed thing or matter; disease agent includes the following:a prion, microorganism, virus, infectious agent and parasite; any prescribed thing or matter; document has the same meaning as in the Evidence Act 2001; electronic communication has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act 2000; emergency– see section 15(1); emergency biosecurity direction means a biosecurity direction that is given in a biosecurity emergency; emergency order– see section 163; emergency permit means a permit referred to in section 100(1)(a); emergency zone– see section 167; engage in a dealing– see section 14; entity means any person, including the Crown, regardless of whether the person – is an organisation or enterprise; or is incorporated or unincorporated; or is comprised of one or more individuals; or is of a government, commercial, charitable, educational, community or other nature; environment means components of the earth, including – land, air and water; and any organic matter, inorganic matter and organisms; and human-made or modified structures and areas; and interacting natural ecosystems that each include components referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); external treatment measure, in relation to a person, means a treatment, such as cleaning or disinfection, that – is limited to the external parts of the person's body; and does not require – any matter or thing to penetrate the person's skin; or the person to ingest any matter or thing; fodder includes any water, meal, meat, plant, vegetable, grain, algal product and other material, or mixture of materials, that is used for the food, supplementation or litter of animals; function includes a power, authority and duty; general biosecurity direction– see section 190(2); general biosecurity duty– see section 70;Government biosecurity program means a program implemented by the Secretary under Division 2 of Part 9; group permit means a permit of any kind granted to a group, or class, of persons; health information has the same meaning as in the Personal Information Protection Act 2004; import means, in relation to any biosecurity matter, carrier or other thing – to import the biosecurity matter, carrier or other thing into Tasmania (excluding Macquarie Island) from Macquarie Island or from another State; or to import the biosecurity matter, carrier or other thing into Macquarie Island from another part of Tasmania or from another State; or to cause, permit or enable anything in paragraph (a) or (b) to occur; individual biosecurity direction– see section 190(3); individual permit means a permit granted to an entity; infringement offence means an offence under this Act or the regulations that is prescribed to be an infringement offence; interstate biosecurity agency means a government department or agency of another State, or the Commonwealth, that is responsible for the administration of a corresponding law; interstate biosecurity certificate means a certificate recognised under section 159; interstate biosecurity officer means an officer of an interstate biosecurity agency; introduce means, in relation to biosecurity matter, to cause or allow the biosecurity matter to become established in an identifiable geographical area; invasive pest– see section 16(3); land includes – inland waters, within the meaning of the Inland Fisheries Act 1995, and state waters; and land that is covered by water; and water in, on and below land; and air, or space, above and below the surface of land; and the subsoil and substrate of land; and buildings and other structures permanently fixed to the land, or part of such buildings and structures; and any other prescribed thing; non-indigenous animal means an animal that is not indigenous to Tasmania, regardless of whether or not the animal is indigenous to any other part of Australia; non-indigenous plant means a plant that is not indigenous to Tasmania, regardless of whether or not the plant is indigenous to any other part of Australia; occupier, in relation to premises, includes any person who has care, control or management of the premises; offal means the brain, thymus gland, pancreas gland, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, lung, intestine, tongue, blood, head or tail of any slaughtered animal or any part of the body of the slaughtered animal which is removed in the course of dressing the body; offender means the person who has been found guilty of an offence under this Act; organism means any organic life form, including a human, whether living or dead; perform a function includes perform a duty and exercise a power; permit means a permit granted under Part 7; permit holder means – in the case of an individual permit, the person specified in the permit; and in the case of a group permit, a member of the group or class of persons specified in the permit; permitted matter– see section 19; personal information has the same meaning as in the Personal Information Protection Act 2004; pest– see section 16; plant includes any member of the Plantae, Fungi or Protista kingdom, whether whole or in part and whether alive or dead; plant disease means any disease of, or capable of infecting, a plant; plant product includes – the whole, or any part, of a flower, fruit, nut, seed, leaf, bulb, corm, tuber, stem, spore or pollen that has been separated from a plant; and dried plant material or timber; premises includes – any land, whether built on or not; and any building, structure, vehicle or public or private place; prohibited dealing– see section 17(2); prohibited dealing permit means a permit referred to in section 100(1)(c); prohibited matter– see section 20; prohibited matter permit means a permit referred to in section 100(1)(b); public authority has the same meaning as in the Personal Information Protection Act 2004; public information has the same meaning as in the Personal Information Protection Act 2004;Recorder of Titles means the Recorder within the meaning of the Land Titles Act 1980; recoverable amount– see section 210;Register has the same meaning as in the Land Titles Act 1980; registered entity means an entity that holds biosecurity registration; regulated dealing– see section 17(1); regulations means regulations made under this Act; relevant court, in relation to an offence or offender, means the most senior court that has – determined the guilt of the offender for the offence under this Act; or convicted the offender for the offence; or made an order under section 7 of the Sentencing Act 1997 against the offender in relation to the offence, whether or not a conviction is recorded in respect of the offence; relevant officer, in relation to a biosecurity direction, means – in relation to a general biosecurity direction, the Secretary, the Chief Veterinary Officer or the Chief Plant Protection Officer; and in relation to an individual biosecurity direction, the Secretary or an authorised officer; requirement includes a duty or obligation; residential premises means any part of premises that is solely used for residential purposes; responsible accreditation authority– see section 140; responsible person, in relation to a seized thing, means the apparent owner of the thing or, if the owner cannot be reasonably ascertained, the apparent occupier of the premises where the thing is seized; restricted matter– see section 21;Secretary means Secretary of the Department; seized thing means a thing seized by an authorised officer under Part 4 that has not been destroyed in accordance with this Act; specified biosecurity requirement– see section 72;State includes a Territory; state waters has the same meaning as in the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995; stock animal means – a farmed or domesticated animal of which any part of the animal is used as, or which produces a product that is ordinarily used as, or manufactured into, a food, fibre, medicine, cosmetic, animal food, or other similar product; and an animal prescribed to be a stock animal; suitable person– see section 18; supply includes the following:to deliver, sell, trade, give or distribute, whether for monetary consideration or not; to offer or agree to deliver, sell, trade, give or distribute; to cause or permit delivery, sale, trade, giving or distribution; to hold in possession for the purpose of delivery, sale, trade, giving or distributing; to produce or package for delivery, sale, trade, giving or distributing; thing includes any biosecurity matter, or carriers, other than a human; treatment means a treatment, or process, used for the prevention, elimination, minimisation, control or management of a biosecurity risk or biosecurity impact, including a process, or measure, for treating, cleaning, fumigating, irradiating, disinfecting, medicating and vaccinating; vehicle means a conveyance of any kind, however propelled, whether or not it is capable of being moved or operated at the material time, and includes – a caravan, trailer, truck, train and other land vehicle; and a vessel; and an aeroplane, helicopter, hot air balloon, drone and other aircraft; and any other prescribed thing; vessel includes – a ship, boat, hovercraft, ferry, raft and other water craft; and a pontoon, floating pier and other floating structure; veterinary surgeon means a person who is a registered veterinary surgeon within the meaning of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1987; virus includes any virus and sub-viral agent capable of infecting an organism; weed means a plant that is a pest.

In this Act, a reference to biosecurity matter – by a common name does not limit any reference to the biosecurity matter by its scientific name; and includes a reference to all stages of the life cycle of the biosecurity matter, if such matter has a life cycle.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference to the State, this State or Tasmania includes a reference to the state waters of Tasmania.

The Secretary is to keep on the Department website a compendium that includes, but is not limited to – a list of all prohibited matter; and a list of all permitted matter, including any conditions, requirements and restrictions applying in respect of the permitted matter; and a list of all restricted matter declared under section 21(2); and any explanatory or supporting information and material that the Secretary considers appropriate.

The Secretary is to ensure that – the compendium, or a copy of the compendium, kept under subsection (1) is available to members of the public; and the compendium or the copy made available is, on 1 July of each year, correct as at that point in time.

The compendium kept under subsection (1) – is to be judicially noticed; and is not a statutory rule for the purposes of the Rules Publication Act 1953; and is not subordinate legislation for the purposes of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1992.

For the purposes of this Act, each of the following events is a biosecurity event:

the presence in Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, of prohibited matter;

the presence in Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, of an animal disease that may pose a biosecurity risk to Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, regardless of whether the disease, or cause of the disease, is known or identified;

the presence in Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, of a plant disease that may pose a biosecurity risk to Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, regardless of whether the disease, or cause of the disease, is known or identified;

the presence in Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, of an invasive pest that may pose a biosecurity risk to Tasmania, or part of Tasmania, regardless of whether the species, or subspecies, of the invasive pest is known or identified;

a prescribed event or circumstance.

In this Act, biosecurity impact means an adverse effect on the environment, the community or the economy that arises, or has the potential to arise from any biosecurity matter or carrier, or a dealing with biosecurity matter or carrier, being an adverse effect that is a result of, or related to – the introduction, presence, spread or increase of an animal disease or plant disease into or within Tasmania or any part of Tasmania; or the introduction, presence, spread or increase of a pest into or within Tasmania or any part of Tasmania; or an animal or plant, or the product of any animal or plant, that is contaminated; or any thing, or circumstances, prescribed to have biosecurity impact.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), an animal or plant, or the product of an animal or plant, is contaminated if it contains a contaminant that makes, or is likely to make, the animal, plant or product – unfit or unsuitable for use in any commercial or other activity in which it would normally be used; or a risk to human health, human safety or the environment; or unfit for export or other trade for which it would normally be used.