Note: changes made to plant Import Requirements after the last annual edition of the Plant Biosecurity Manual are detailed on our webpage Import Requirement Changes.
With regards to APVMA’s announcement to suspend the registration of dimethoate products used as post-harvest treatment on tropical and subtropical fruit with inedible peel
Biosecurity Tasmania is aware of the announcement made by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) 19th September 2023 of the suspension of use of dimethoate for post-harvest treatment of tropical and subtropical fruit with inedible peel. Read the full media release
here.
Dimethoate is widely used as a convenient and cost-effective post-harvest quarantine disinfestation treatment for Queensland fruit fly and Mediterranean fruit fly.
Import Requirement 8A of the Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania, includes dimethoate treatment as an option. The changes to this requirement to reflect its suspension will be updated in the next issue of the Manual by early next year.
Should growers affected by this decision wish to continue market access, they would need to consider the available alternative treatment options included in the Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania.
The Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania
One of the key goals of the
Tasmanian Biosecurity Policy is to minimise the threat to Tasmania's primary industries, natural environment and public health from disease and pest risks associated with plants and plant products brought into the State. This means that there are a large number of rules relating to the conditions of entry for a wide range of plants and plant products imported into Tasmania - these rules are known as 'Import Requirements'.
The Tasmanian Plant Biosecurity Manual (PBMTas) exists to help importers, exporters and the broader public understand the current requirements for the import and export of plants, plant products, and other related restricted matter authorised by the Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tasmania).
Each new edition is likely to contain changes to some import requirements so, if you do download the Manual or any extract from it (from below), please check that the hard copy you are using is the current edition.
In most cases, changes to import requirements are minor and will come into effect as the next edition of PBMTas is published. However, there may be rare occasions when we have to make changes to import requirements that necessarily come into effect immediately. We will be posting any such changes on this web page. If you use the PBMTas regularly, please bookmark this page so that you will be aware of any such emergency declarations.
Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania 2023 Edition, version 2
Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania (2Mb)
Tasmanian Plant Pest (and Disease) Listings
In Tasmania, plant pest (and disease) declaration changes are made under The Biosecurity Act 2019 (BA2019; the Act), along with sister legislation, the Biosecurity Regulations 2022.
The following attachment provides a summary listing of all plant pest (and disease) declaration changes since January 2006 (prior to May 2023 these were declared under the Plant Quarantine Act 1997).
Pests (and diseases) are categorised according to Biosecurity Tasmania’s plant biosecurity 3 tier pest categorisation system of Prohibited Pests , Declared Pests, and Restricted Pests.
The declaration status of any given Tasmanian plant biosecurity pest or disease of concern can change at any time because the pest is either:
- newly declared (in response to a new pest outbreak in Australia, and/or recommendation from pest risk analysis of import biosecurity matter); or
- amended in scientific name in published literature; or
- altered in terms of their List status (as to whether it is a Prohibited Pest, Declared Pest or Restricted Pest); or
- revoked from declaration entirely because the pest has established in Tasmania and is not controlled in its distribution and is identified as spreading naturally within the state to the potential limits of its biogeographic range.
Summary Table Of Tasmanian Quarantine Pest Declarations (PDF 2Mb)
Further information:
Biosecurity Forms - Once you have worked out which import requirements apply in your case you can get the
relevant forms online.
Changes between Manual Publishing
Changes made to import requirements during 2023 will not appear in the Manual until the next edition is published. So, please check the
Plant Import Requirement Changes page regularly for changes not in the Manual.
Please send enquiries or feedback about the Plant Biosecurity Manual to
Biosecurity.planthealth@nre.tas.gov.au