1Objectives

The objectives of these Regulations are—

(a)

to require possession of an assurance certificate, a plant health certificate or a plant health declaration in certain circumstances and to provide exemptions from this requirement; and

(b)

to prescribe particulars for assurance certificates, plant health certificates and plant health declarations in certain circumstances; and

(c)

to require the presentation of prescribed material, certificates or declarations in certain circumstances; and

(d)

to prescribe the manner of attaching a warning to seized or detained packages, plants or plant products; and

(e)

to prescribe plants for the purposes of the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010; and

(f)

to specify activities for which inspectors can impose fees and charges; and

(g)

to prescribe offences under that Act which may be enforced by infringement notices and penalties for infringement notices; and

(h)

to prescribe other matters for the purposes of that Act.

2Authorising provision

These Regulations are made under section 141 of the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010.

3Commencement

These Regulations come into operation on 30 May 2026.

4Revocations

The following Regulations are revoked—

(a)

the Plant Biosecurity Regulations 2016^[1];

(b)

the Plant Biosecurity Amendment Regulations 2024^[2].

5Definitions

In these Regulations—

area freedom certificate means a certificate issued by an officer of a department responsible for agriculture in another State or Territory that contains the details required under regulation 8(3);

department responsible for agriculture in another State or Territory includes a department in another State or Territory administering a corresponding law;

grape phylloxera means the pest Daktulosphaira vitifolii (Fitch);

phylloxera exclusion zone means any part of another State or Territory that has been identified under a corresponding law for the purpose of preventing the entry of grape phylloxera into that part of the State or Territory;

plant or plant product of the genus Vitis includes the following of the genus Vitis—

(a)

grapevines;

(b)

potted vines;

(c)

cuttings;

(d)

rootlings;

(e)

leaves;

(f)

stems;

(g)

grapes for table use or winemaking;

(h)

juice;

(i)

plant samples taken for diagnostic purposes;

potato cyst nematode means the pest Globodera rostochiensis (Wollenweber) (Skarbilovich);

root vegetable includes beetroot, carrot, parsnip, potato, radish, rutabaga, swede, sweet potato and turnip;

the Act means the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010.

Part 2—Plant pest and disease control

6Prescribed materials

For the purposes of Division 1 of Part 2 of the Act, the following materials are prescribed materials—

(a)

any plant or plant product of the genus Vitis;

(b)

used agricultural equipment used for the culture, harvesting, packing or processing of any plant or plant product of the genus Vitis;

(c)

a used package which contains, is known to have contained, or is reasonably suspected of containing or having contained, any plant or plant product of the genus Vitis;

(d)

earth material, including samples of soil for diagnostic purposes, that originates from a property on which any plant or plant product of the genus Vitis is grown;

(e)

root vegetables, bulbs, nursery plants or seedlings that have been grown in soil or in a soil-free medium in contact with soil;

(f)

used agricultural equipment used for the culture, harvesting, packing or processing of root vegetables, bulbs, nursery plants or seedlings described in paragraph (e);

(g)

a used package which contains, is known to have contained, or is reasonably suspected of containing or having contained, any root vegetables, bulbs, nursery plants or seedlings described in paragraph (e);

(h)

earth material in which root vegetables, bulbs, nursery plants or seedlings described in paragraph (e) have been grown, including samples of soil for diagnostic purposes.

7Prescribed States and Territories

For the purposes of sections 8(1) and 14 of the Act—

(a)

New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia are prescribed States; and

(b)

the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are prescribed Territories.

8Requirement to send and possess certificate or declaration with prescribed materials

(1)

For the purposes of section 8(1C) of the Act, a person must comply with paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection in respect of all prescribed material, unless—

(a)

the prescribed material is specified in subregulation (2); or

(b)

regulation 9 applies to the person.

(2)

For the purposes of subregulation (1)(a), the following prescribed materials are specified—

(a)

material prescribed under regulation 6(a) or (d) that originates from a phylloxera exclusion zone;

(b)

material prescribed under regulation 6(b) that is from a phylloxera exclusion zone;

(c)

material prescribed under regulation 6(c) that is from a phylloxera exclusion zone;

(d)

material prescribed under regulation 6(a), (b), (c) or (d) that originates from an area for which an area freedom certificate has been issued in relation to grape phylloxera;

(e)

material prescribed under regulation 6(e), (f), (g) or (h) that originates from an area for which an area freedom certificate has been issued in relation to potato cyst nematode;

(f)

a plant in tissue culture.

(3)

An area freedom certificate must include the following details—

(a)

the name of the pest or disease in relation to which the certificate is issued;

(b)

a description of the area of the prescribed State or Territory or part thereof in which that pest or disease is known not to occur;

(c)

the signature of the officer who issued the certificate and the officer's position;

(d)

the name of the State or Territory department, agency or authority that issued the certificate.

9Requirement to present prescribed material for inspection, examination and treatment

For the purposes of section 8(1C) of the Act, a person must comply with paragraph (b)(ii) of that subsection if the prescribed material in the person's possession is not specified in regulation 8(2) and the person—

(a)

is not in possession of an assurance certificate, a plant health certificate or a plant health declaration for the prescribed material; or

(b)

is in possession of an assurance certificate for the prescribed material which does not comply with section 11 of the Act; or

(c)

is in possession of a plant health certificate for the prescribed material which does not comply with section 12 of the Act; or

(d)

is in possession of a plant health declaration for the prescribed material which does not comply with section 13 of the Act.

10Requirement to present certificate or declaration for inspection

A person who is required under regulation 9(b), (c) or (d) to present any prescribed material for inspection, examination or treatment must also present for inspection any assurance certificate, plant health certificate or plant health declaration that accompanies the prescribed material.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

11Prescribed place for inspection, examination and treatment

For the purposes of section 8(1C)(b)(ii) of the Act, a prescribed place is the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Market at Cooper Street, Epping.

12Prescribed particulars for certificates and declarations

For the purposes of sections 11(b), 12(b) and 13(b) of the Act, the prescribed particulars for an assurance certificate, a plant health certificate or a plant health declaration are details that identify the prescribed material to which the certificate or declaration relates.

Part 3—Property identification codes

Plant Biosecurity Regulations 2026

About this Act

Bill & explanatory material

This Act’s bill