CHARGING GUIDELINES
2015–16
Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
© Commonwealth of Australia 2015
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Inquiries about the licence and any use of this document should be sent to copyright@agriculture.gov.au.
Cataloguing data
This publication (and any material sourced from it) should be attributed as: DAWR 2015, Cost Recovery
Implementation Statement, Biosecurity 2015–16, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Canberra,
October. CC BY 3.0.
ISBN 978-1-76003-112-1 (online)
This publication is available at agriculture.gov.au/publications.
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Postal address GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone 1800 900 090
Web agriculture.gov.au
The Australian Government acting through the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has exercised
due care and skill in preparing and compiling the information and data in this publication. Notwithstanding, the
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, its employees and advisers disclaim all liability, including
liability for negligence and for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person as a result of
accessing, using or relying upon any of the information or data in this publication to the maximum extent
permitted by law.
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Contents
Glossary ................................................................................................................................................5
1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................7
2
Legislation.................................................................................................................................8
2.1
Legislative basis—Biosecurity and Imported Food ............................................................. 8
2.2
Legislative basis—Export Certification ................................................................................ 9
3
General Provisions ................................................................................................................. 10
3.1
Administrative arrangements............................................................................................ 10
3.2
Charging - start and finish times........................................................................................ 10
3.3
Overtime ............................................................................................................................ 12
3.4
Collection arrangements ................................................................................................... 14
4
Biosecurity (including imported food) .................................................................................. 16
4.1
Exemptions ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.2
Import declaration charges ............................................................................................... 17
4.3
Import permits .................................................................................................................. 21
4.4
Post entry quarantine ........................................................................................................ 24
4.5
Aircraft, travellers and mail ............................................................................................... 28
4.6
Approved arrangements (including Food Import Compliance Agreements) .................... 29
4.7
Vessel entries and inspections .......................................................................................... 30
5
General Export Provisions ..................................................................................................... 33
5.1
Export documents and certificates ................................................................................... 33
5.2
Organics ............................................................................................................................. 33
6
Live Animal Export Certification ............................................................................................ 35
6.1
Exemptions ........................................................................................................................ 35
6.2
Application for Approval and Approval Variations............................................................ 35
6.3
Export licence and approved arrangement levies ............................................................. 35
6.4
Livestock throughput levies............................................................................................... 36
6.5
Premises charges ............................................................................................................... 38
6.6
Certificate charges ............................................................................................................. 38
6.7
Inspection and audit fees .................................................................................................. 39
6.8
Vaccines and non-reusable materials ............................................................................... 43
7
Plant Export Certification ...................................................................................................... 44
7.1
Plant exports charging ....................................................................................................... 44
7.2
Exemptions ........................................................................................................................ 44
7.3
Fees and levies................................................................................................................... 44
7.4
Annual charge for registered establishments ................................................................... 44
7.5
Tonnage levies ................................................................................................................... 46
7.6
Inspection and audit .......................................................................................................... 47
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7.7
Documentation fees .......................................................................................................... 48
7.8
Authorised Officers............................................................................................................ 50
8
Food Export Certification ...................................................................................................... 51
8.1
Common food export certificate principles ...................................................................... 51
8.2
Exemptions ........................................................................................................................ 52
9
Meat Export Certification ...................................................................................................... 53
9.1
Establishment levies .......................................................................................................... 53
9.2
Throughput levies .............................................................................................................. 54
9.3
Audit fees........................................................................................................................... 54
9.4
Documentation.................................................................................................................. 55
9.5
Inspection fees .................................................................................................................. 55
9.6
Services provided by the meat export programme under an arrangement ..................... 55
9.7
Meat export quotas ........................................................................................................... 56
10
Dairy Export Certification ...................................................................................................... 58
10.1
Establishment levies .......................................................................................................... 58
10.2
Inspection and audit fees .................................................................................................. 59
10.3
Documentation charges .................................................................................................... 59
10.4
Dairy quota ........................................................................................................................ 59
11
Fish and Egg Export Certification........................................................................................... 61
11.1
Establishment levies .......................................................................................................... 61
11.2
Inspection and audit fees .................................................................................................. 61
11.3
Documentation charges .................................................................................................... 62
12
Non Prescribed Goods ........................................................................................................... 63
12.1
Audit and inspection fees for NPG and organics ............................................................... 63
12.2
Documentation charges for NPG....................................................................................... 63
12.3
NPG quota ......................................................................................................................... 64
12.4
Version history................................................................................................................... 64
Attachment 1 — Transitional arrangements 2015-16 ...................................................................... 65
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Glossary
The following table defines terms used in this document.
Term
Definition
AIMS
The department’s import management system used to manage
biosecurity and food safety risks associated with imported cargo;
trace and record imported cargo and assign and collect revenue on
imported cargo.
Assessment
Involves assessing information to determine if it meets the
department’s and importing country requirements. This includes all
preparatory work (such as confirming importing country or export
requirements) and post work (such as assessment report
preparation) travel and client assistance in relation to the
assessment. Examples include assessments of licenses, permits,
registrations, accreditations, and exemptions.
Cost Recovery Guidelines
(the guidelines)
A guideline that sets out the overarching framework under which
government entities design, implement and review cost recovered
activities provided on behalf of the Australian government.
Department
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Departmental holiday
A departmental holiday for the performance of a service means a
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is a day
observed as a public holiday in the place where the service is
performed. Overtime is not charged on days during the
department’s Christmas closedown period that are not a public
holiday.
EXDOC
The Export Documentation System, which has been designed to
electronically process notices of intention to export and where
required provide certification for meat, dairy, grain, horticulture,
fish, skins and hides, wool and inedible meat products.
Export permit
A document that confirms eligibility of goods for export and
facilitates the exit of these goods from Australia.
Fee
A charge imposed when activities are provided directly to a specific
individual or organisation. In the Cost Recovery Guidelines, fees are
referred to as cost recovery fees.
In-office
Means the provision of the service at a location where the services
of departmental staff are available on an ongoing basis.
Inspection
Involves the physical examination (and supervision of a physical
examination) of goods, animals and plants to determine compliance
with biosecurity and food safety requirements (imports) and
importing country conditions (exports). An inspection is performed
for a specific client as opposed to surveillance which is not.
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Levy
A charge imposed when activities are provided to a group of
individuals or organisations (e.g. an industry sector) rather than to a
specific individual or organisation. A levy is legally a taxation charge
and is imposed in a separate taxation Act to comply with
constitutional requirements. A levy differs from general taxation, as
it is earmarked to fund activities provided to the group being
charged. In the Cost Recovery Guidelines, levies are referred to as
cost recovery levies.
Ordinary hours of duty
The department’s ordinary hours of duty for all services, other than
services provided under the meat export arrangement, are
weekdays between 6.30am and 6.30 pm, excluding departmental
holidays.
For services provided under the meat export arrangement the
ordinary hours of duty are weekdays from 5:30am to 5:30pm,
excluding departmental holidays.
Out-of-office
Means the provision of the service at a location where the services
of departmental staff are not available on an ongoing basis.
Weekday
Means a weekday that is not a departmental holiday in the place
where the service is provided.
Working day
Means a period of 7.5 hours for which departmental staff provides
the service during the ordinary hours of duty on a weekday.
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1 Introduction
The Charging Guidelines (the guidelines) provide instruction about the application of the Department
of Agriculture and Water Resource’s (the department) biosecurity and export certification fees and
charges including biosecurity, live animal exports, plant exports and food exports.
The guidelines provide clarity about the department’s fees and levies to industry and the public when
using biosecurity or export certification services. The guidelines refer to the department’s charges
only. They do not include any other government charges or fees that are applied by commercial
entities such as custom brokers, freight forwarders, express carriers, cold stores, abattoirs, pack
houses, industry authorised officers and other entities in the import and export logistics process.
The guidelines are designed for a wide-ranging audience, including:





clients and fee payers
industry
departmental staff
other government agencies
members of the public.
The guidelines provide detail on how the department will apply fees and levies to its biosecurity and
export certification activities. Information about the department’s cost recovery policy, biosecurity
and export certification activities and cost models can be found in the following Cost Recovery
Implementation Statement documents:




Biosecurity
Plant Exports
Food Exports
Live Animal Exports
The department’s Service Charter outlines the service standards we provide, who our clients are,
what our role is, what your rights are and how you can help us improve and deliver our services. We
strive to provide and maintain a high level of service by stating necessary lead times for the functions
related to biosecurity and export certification.
A copy of the Service Charter is available on the department’s website at:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/client-service-charter
If you have questions or need more information about cost recovery, please contact the department
at costrecovery@agriculture.gov.au.
The guidelines supersede all other earlier versions of charging guidelines.
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2 Legislation
2.1 Legislative basis—Biosecurity and Imported Food
Fees and levies for biosecurity activities and imported food are applied under separate statutory
authority. Table 1 lists the Acts and associated delegated legislation that provides powers to impose
and collect fees and levies for biosecurity and imported food-related activities. Where a charge exists
in more than one regulation, the charge applies only once. The presence in multiple regulations is to
satisfy legislative objectives.
Table 1: Primary and delegated legislation for biosecurity and imported food
Primary Legislation
Delegated legislation
Biosecurity
Quarantine Act 1908
Quarantine Fees Determination 2005
Quarantine Service Fees (Australia Post)
Determination 2010
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—Customs)
Act 2014
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—Customs)
Regulations 2015
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—Excise)
Act 2014.
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—General)
Act 2014
Quarantine Charges (imposition—General)
Regulations 2015
Quarantine Charges (Collection) Act 2014
Quarantine Charges (Collection) Regulations 2014
Imported Food
Imported Food Control Act 1992
Imported Food Control Regulations 1993
Imported Food Charges (Imposition—
Customs) Act 2015
Imported Food Charges (Imposition—Customs)
Regulation 2015
Imported Food Charges (Imposition—
Excise) Act 2015
Imported Food Charges (Imposition—
General) Act 2015
Imported Food Charges (Imposition—General)
Regulation 2015
Imported Food Charges (Collection) Act
2015
Imported Food Charges (Collection) Regulation 2015
The Biosecurity Act 2015 will commence on 16 June 2016 and replaces the Quarantine Act 1908 as
the primary piece of biosecurity legislation in Australia. The department is working with stakeholders
to develop subordinate legislation and supporting polices before the legislation comes into effect.
This includes regulations affecting the management of ballast water and approved arrangements.
More information on the Biosecurity Act 2015 can be obtained from the department’s website.
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2.2 Legislative basis—Export Certification
The government has implemented new export charging legislation to implement the full redesign of
fees and levies. Table 2 lists the Acts and associated delegated legislation that provides powers to
impose and collect fees and levies for export-related activities. Where a charge exists in more than
one regulation, the charge applies only once. The presence in multiple regulations is to satisfy
legislative objectives.
Table 2: Primary and delegated legislation for exports
Primary Legislation
Delegated legislation
Exports
Export Charges (Collections) Act 2015
Export Charges (Collection) Regulation 2015
Export Charges (Imposition—Customs)
Act 2015
Export Charges (Imposition—Customs) Regulation
2015
Export Charges (Imposition—Excise) Act
2015
Export Charges (Imposition—General) Act
2015
Export Charges (Imposition-General) Regulation 2015
The Export Control Act 1982
Export Control Fees Order 2015
Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry
Act 1997
Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export
Licensing) Regulations 1998
Australian Meat and Live-stock (Quotas)
Act 1990
Australian Meat and Live-stock (Quotas) Regulations
1998
Dairy Produce Act 1986
Dairy Produce Regulations 1996
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3 General Provisions
This document outlines the fees and levies for departmental officers undertaking biosecurity and
export certification related functions. It also provides instruction on the application of charges for
each activity performed.
These guidelines apply to activities that are subject to the fees and levies set out in the charging
legislation for quarantine, imported food and export certification. Those charges apply to activities in
Australia. Activities that occur offshore (such as pre import inspections, offshore facility audits or
related activity and if there is a requirement for a departmental officer to accompany a voyage for
any reason) are charged under contractual agreements covered by separate guidance material.
3.1 Administrative arrangements
Multiple Staff required
In cases where multiple staff are required to provide a service, the relevant fee is applied for each
officer performing the service. The option to have multiple staff is agreed to in consultation with the
client at the time of booking the appointment, noting that there are certain circumstances for which
the department must deploy at least two officers due to work, health and safety reasons.
Transitional arrangements
The transitional arrangements that are applied during the period from the commencement of the
charges on 1 December 2015 are set out in Attachment 1, to these guidelines.
Remittances
Fees and levies may be remitted in certain circumstances, such as drawing down an industry reserve.
All remissions are temporary and need to be closely monitored to assess ongoing affordability.
Remissions may need to be adjusted if trade volumes and costs change unexpectedly. Any
adjustments are subject to industry consultation, with an agreed lead time for industry to respond to
a change in price.
3.2 Charging - start and finish times
Chargeable start time
For inspections and audits, the chargeable time covers the service and any preparatory and follow up
work in support of the inspection or audit.
Where an officer has had to travel to a client’s establishment, business or a port, the chargeable time
of the service starts when the officer arrives at the pre-arranged location. Work, health and safety
inductions are not included in the chargeable time.
The chargeable time for vessel inspections starts from officer arrival at the ‘site entry point’ to access
the vessel, such as the wharf gate, to the officer’s exit from the site where the service is delivered.
Additional charges apply if there are delays in access being provided to the site or port precinct. fees
do not apply for the time taken to travel to the site.
For assessment, audit and inspection activities that are undertaken in-office, the chargeable time
starts when the officer commences the activity. Examples of these activities include document
assessments, approvals, inspections and audits and preparation for these activities.
There are no chargeable time rates applied to unit fees, such as certificates.
Chargeable finish time
The chargeable time for an out-of-office service finishes when an officer completes the inspection or
audit required at the site. Additional inspection, documentation or audit activity may be required to
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complete the inspection or audit with this activity occurring at the office or at another location.
Examples of these activities include systems authorising, reporting and assessing results. For
activities that are undertaken in-office, the chargeable time finishes when the activity is complete.
Departmental officer arrives early
If an officer arrives early and is able to start work, then chargeable time starts from when the client
agrees that the activity can start, even if this is before the agreed booked time.
Departmental officer arrives late
If an officer arrives late and is able to start work, then chargeable time starts from when both the
officer and client agree that the activity can commence.
Client delay
If an officer has been requested to attend at a specified time and arrives to find the consignment or
client is not ready, including audit activities, the client is charged from the pre-arranged staff time or
from when the officer arrived, whichever is later. If a consignment, client or access to a vessel is not
available, the client may request that the officer wait until they are ready, providing that the
additional time would not adversely affect service to other clients. In the following scenario the
exporter is charged for the availability of the officer over the available span of hours of work.
Scenario—Client delay
A Live Animal Export officer arrives at 6.30 am on a Monday as per scheduling at a remote location to
inspect a livestock consignment prepared for export. The exporter advises that the consignment will
be delayed until 7 am on Wednesday (two days). The exporter requests the officer to stay until the
consignment is ready as there are no suitable flights (as determined by the departmental officer) for
the officer to return to their home location. The exporter is charged an inspection fee for the 2 days
(12 hours per day) for the waiting time. 12 hours per day is charged because this is the span of hours
that an officer is available. On commencement of the inspections, normal inspection / overtime fees
will apply where applicable. The client is charged the following for the delay:
Inspection (waiting time client delay 2 days – 24
hours)
96 x $54
Total
$5 184
$5 184
Pre-arranged booking period—booked time overstated
If an officer has been booked for service by a client to attend for a specified period of time, and finds
that the booking made is greater than the amount of time required to complete the task, then the
client is charged for the entire booked for service time, regardless of whether the inspection finished
earlier.
Interruptions to service delivery
Interruptions caused by the client that ultimately delay the inspection or audit is part of the
chargeable time. For example, in the case of sea vessels, additional charges apply if there are delays
in access being provided onto the vessel.
The time recorded for an interrupted service by the client is treated as a continuous period of time.
The client must not be charged for any ‘time out’, i.e. time taken by the department for reasons not
related to the inspection or audit. Such reasons may include responding to phone calls and/or rest
breaks of 15 continuous minutes or more.
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Cancellation of pre-arranged bookings prior to officer arrival on-site
No fees are applied if more than 24 hours notice is provided. This does not apply to meat export
service arrangements.
If less than 24 hours notice is provided, the client is charged a minimum 15 minutes fee for service
rate. In circumstances where an officer is booked inspection out of hours overtime is also charged.
This cost includes all pre-inspection and pre-audit activities already conducted and for the officer’s
time taken to reschedule resources. Cancellations include scenarios where appointments are moved
due to product unavailability.
Where an inspection is cancelled during a multiple consignment inspection, a cancellation fee must
be charged to the person requesting the service. In the case where an agent is acting on behalf of a
number of clients, the agent will be charged for the cancellation.
Cancellation of pre-arranged bookings with officer on-site
If a client is not ready in time and the inspection or audit does not eventuate, then the client is
charged a minimum 15 minute fee for service rate, including any associated pre-inspection and preaudit work already undertaken and overtime if applicable. The client will also need to request a new
inspection. The fee is for services provided up to the point of cancellation.
3.3 Overtime
Clients requiring services outside the ordinary span of hours will incur the relevant fee for service
charge in addition to overtime charges—that is, on a weekday before 6.30am or after 6.30pm, or on
a weekend, or a departmental holiday. Overtime is charged for each departmental officer performing
the service in addition to the relevant fee for service (see Table 3).
Services under the live animal export programme have separate overtime rates for veterinarians (see
section 5). Services under the meat export programme have separate arrangements for shift and
overtime rates (see Section 8).
Continuous
Continuous overtime is a fee that is applied on a weekday where a service was commenced
immediately before or immediately after the ordinary span of hours.
The overtime fee is charged at $15 per 15 minutes. Overtime is charged in addition to the relevant
fee for service (such as time based fees, i.e. inspections, or unit based fees, i.e. certificates).
Non-continuous
Non-continuous overtime is charged at a minimum of half an hour fee, and additional overtime is
charged for each 15 minutes of service that follows. It is applied where a service commences outside
(and not immediately before or after) the ordinary span of hours. Overtime is charged in addition to
the relevant fee for service (such as time based fees, i.e. inspections, or unit based fees, i.e.
certificates).
Non-continuous overtime rates are applied where services are provided on a:

Weekday: the minimum half hour overtime fee is $30. Each additional 15 minutes of
overtime service is charged at $15 per 15 minutes.

Weekend or a departmental holiday: the minimum half hour overtime fee is $40. Each
additional 15 minutes of overtime service is charged at $20 per 15 minutes. Overtime is
charged in addition to the relevant fee for service.
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Table 3: Overtime fees
Fee for Service
Type
Legislated Rate
Continuous overtime
Fee
$15
Non-continuous overtime (weekday)
Fee
$15
Non-continuous overtime
(weekend or departmental holiday)
Fee
$20
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
30 minutes (minimum fee)
(per 15 minutes thereafter)
30 minutes (minimum fee)
(per 15 minutes thereafter)
Scenario—weekday overtime
A client requests an inspection to be undertaken at a quarantine approved premises beginning at
4.30 pm. The inspection lasts for 4.5 hours, and is finished at 9.00 pm. For 2 hours between 4.30 pm
and 6.30 pm the inspection falls in the department’s ordinary span of hours. For 2.5 hours between
6.30 and 9.00 pm the inspection includes overtime. Fee for service is charged for the total inspection
time of 4.5 hours. The client is charged as follows:
Out-of-office Inspection (in ordinary hours)
8 x $50
$400
Out-of-office inspection (out of ordinary hours)
10 x $50
$500
Overtime (continuous)
10 x $15
$150
Total
$1 050
Scenario—overtime after hours on a weekday
A departmental officer is requested to perform an inspection of imported genetic material at a
regional office. The service is requested at 5 am on a Wednesday morning for an hour. Overtime is
charged in addition to the fee for service rate for the whole inspection. The importer is charged as
follows:
Genetic material inspection
4 x $30
$120
Overtime (non – continuous)
4 x $15
$60
Total
$180
Scenario—overtime on a public holiday
A departmental officer is requested to perform an inspection at a premises exporting live birds on a
public holiday and the inspection takes two hours from 6.00 to 8.00 am. Overtime is charged in
addition to the fee for service rate for the whole inspection. The exporter is charged as follows:
LAE inspection
8 x $54
$432
Overtime (non – continuous)
8 x $20
$160
Total
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Scenario—overtime on the weekend
A client requests an inspection of their cut flowers to be undertaken on the weekend. The inspection
lasts for 15 minutes. Overtime and inspection are charged at a minimum of 30 minutes and
inspection is charged for 15 minutes. The flower importer is charged as follows:
Out-of-office inspection
2 x $50
$100
Overtime (non-continuous)
2 x $20
$40
Total
$140
3.4 Collection arrangements
Payment of fees and charges
Where the full cost of the service can be determined prior to the provision of service the charge may
be payable on the demand of a departmental officer. Services that are paid for prior to the activity
being conducted include:

import permit application levies and the initial assessment fee according to the permit
category

initial assessment inspection fees for import declarations

application levies

variation levies

authorised officer training and assessment modules.
In all other cases, an invoice is issued and payment is due in accordance with the terms detailed on
the invoice. Payment requirements vary according to whether the client is an account client or not.
A financial penalty fee at the rate of 20 percent per annum applies to outstanding debts. Penalties
are applied to all outstanding amounts on a monthly basis.
Disputed debt
In instances where debts are queried or disputed by the client, the department will not progress with
any sanctions due to the non-payment of the debt, until the issue is resolved.
Where a debt has occurred due to the client disputing the invoice, and the invoice is correct, the
client is liable for the original debt plus the penalties. In the same circumstance, where the invoice is
incorrect, the penalty debt is credited back to the client.
Sanctions for non-payment of debt
Where a debt remains outstanding, a range of sanctions are available to the department including
withdrawal of further services and suspension or revocation of an approved arrangement premises
or the export registration of an establishment or premises.
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Withdrawal of services
Action to withdraw services may commence if invoices or late penalties are unpaid. Once services are
withdrawn no further services will be provided to the company or individual until the outstanding
debt is satisfied in full or a suitable repayment plan is established.
Clients with an extended history of non-payment, or where services cannot be withdrawn, such as
international aircraft and vessels, may be required to pay for inspection and/or certification services
in advance of the service being provided.
Suspension of registration
Where invoices remain unpaid 30 days after the due date for payment then notice may be given that
registrations will be suspended. The Secretary (or their delegate) must give the client eight (8) days’
notice that a registration will be suspended prior to suspension taking effect.
Revocation of registration
Where invoices remain unpaid 90 days after a registration has been suspended then notice may be
given that the registration will be revoked.
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4 Biosecurity (including imported food)
Biosecurity activities undertaken by the department involve activity to assess and manage the
biosecurity risks arising from people, goods, vessels (sea and aircraft), live animals and birds entering
Australia. These activities also include assessing compliance of imported food with relevant food
standards and public health and safety requirements.
Key biosecurity activities provided by the department include:
Importers —assessment and management of the biosecurity risks associated with imported goods
and packaging (including air and sea cargo, international mail, food, live animals and plants). This also
includes husbandry activities undertaken by the department associated with the post entry
quarantine of live animals and plants prior to release into Australia (such as horses, dogs, cats,
hatching eggs, live birds, ruminants, bees and viable seeds).
Vessel operators—assessment and management of the biosecurity risks of sea vessels and aircraft
entering Australia. This includes assessments and inspections to manage the risks posed by the vessel
itself, contaminants on the vessel, human biosecurity risks, ballast water and biofouling on sea
vessels and aircraft disinsection.
Approved arrangement participants—administering arrangements, managing compliance regimes
and setting standards for various third party arrangements managed by the department, such as
quarantine approved premises, compliance agreements and imported food compliance agreements.
Travellers—assessment and management of biosecurity risks posed by aircraft and accompanied
travellers baggage.
4.1 Exemptions
These charges do not apply to services performed, or to applications or entries lodged or assessed, in
relation to:
a)
the importation of goods:
(i)
For the official use of a diplomatic mission in Australia.
(ii) For the personal use of a diplomatic agent of the mission.
(iii) For the personal use of a member of the diplomatic agent’s family, if the person forms
part of the diplomatic agent’s household and is not an Australian citizen.
b)
the importation of goods for the personal use of a member of the administrative or technical
staff (the staff member) of a diplomatic mission at the time of first installation, if the staff
member is neither an Australian citizen nor permanently resident in Australia.
c)
importation of goods for the personal use of a member of the diplomatic mission staff
member’s family at the time of first installation, if the person forms part of the staff member’s
household and is neither an Australian citizen nor permanently resident in Australia
d)
vessels or equipment used by the defence force of a foreign country that is engaged in a
combined military activity if the Australian Defence Force has informed the department of the
operation.
e)
importation of disability assistance dogs
f)
the importation of goods into Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Fees and levies also do not apply in relation to the following services:
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a) examination of personal luggage that arrives in Australia aboard the same vessel as the owner or
importer of the goods
b) screening or inspection of individual international postal items that arrive in Australia. A charge is
paid by Australia Post to meet the costs of quarantine and biosecurity services for international
mail.
In paragraph 4.1(e), disability assistance dog, for a dog that is imported, means a dog:
a) that has been professionally trained to assist a person with a disability; and
b) that is accompanying a person with such a disability who has a certificate from a medical
specialist practitioner in a specialty relevant to the disability, stating that the person requires the
assistance of such a dog.
Cost recovery does not apply to those activities that are exempt from the Quarantine Act 1908, such
as traditional movements of people, goods and vessels through the Torres Strait.
4.2 Import declaration charges
Where a full import declaration (FID) for a consignment is lodged, a FID levy will apply. Air FIDs are
charged $33 and sea FIDs $42. These levies are generally applied when an entry is lodged in the
Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s Integrated Cargo System (ICS). Import
declarations that are referred to the department will incur additional fees (see Table 4).
In and out of office fees for service
The standard fee for activities performed out-of-office (including inspection, examination,
assessment, analysis, diagnostic service, clearance, treatment, audit, supervision, training or other
service), performed in relation to goods is $50 per 15 minutes, or part thereof.
The standard fee for these activities performed in-office is $30 per 15 minutes, or part thereof.
Assessment fees
When a FID is referred to the department’s Import Management System (AIMS) from the ICS or a
manual entry is created in AIMS, fees are applied for the time taken for assessing the biosecurity or
food risk. The assessment fee is $30 per 15 minutes for all AIMS entries. The department expects
most biosecurity AIMS entries will only require a 15 minute assessment. If an assessment takes
longer than 15 minutes or subsequent assessments are required, the client is charged at $30 for each
additional 15 minutes. Dual biosecurity and imported food entries are an example of an entry that is
likely to take longer than 15 minutes.
In situations where further information is needed from the client in order to complete the activity,
the first chargeable period will stop and additional chargeable time will apply once that information
is provided.
Time based fees may apply to low value imports that are referred to AIMS for assessment. These
consignments are lodged on the ICS as self-assessed clearances (SAC) lodgements or as informal
clearance assessments. These consignments include goods such as unaccompanied personal effects
(UPEs) and goods purchased online for under $1 000. Fees are charged ($30 per 15 minutes) and
include the time taken by an officer to manually upgrade the SAC lodgement to AIMS or to create a
manual consignment entry in AIMS and assess the documents. Consignments cleared in the
department’s SAC (ICT) system and not referred to AIMS do not incur any fees.
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Inspection fees
The number of 15 minute units to be charged for an out-of-office inspection would be applied
according to the time booked by the client. Where requested, a day rate of $1 000 applies for each
officer who is requested for one or more working days.
Bulk inspection fees
The department may provide bulk inspections for unaccompanied personal effects (UPE) imports
managed by High Volume Specialised Operators (HVSO) and for SAC imports managed by air freight
couriers operating under a bond registered process with the department. The officer will inspect
multiple consignments during the appointment and will charge the importer’s representative, such
as the HVSO, for the appropriate in and out of office fee for service. For HVSOs, the in-office fee is
applied for releasing up to five consignments in the ICS as well as the time taken to create the
manual entry in AIMS.
Table 4: Import declaration charges
Importer levies
Type
Legislated Rate
Unit
Full Import Declaration - air
Levy
$33
Per import declaration
Full Import Declaration - sea
Levy
$42
Per import declaration
Fee for Service
In-office fee
Fee
$30
Out–of-office fee
Fee
$50
Daily rate
Fee
$1 000
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per working day
Scenario—Missing client documents extends assessment
Bonza Brokers lodge import documents for their client who is importing 3 containers of furniture by
sea. After lodging and paying for the FID in the ICS, Bonza Brokers lodge the documents through the
Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS) for assessment. The officer processing the entry spends 7
minutes assessing the entry but is unable to complete it as the treatment certificate is missing. The
following day Bonza Brokers lodges the missing paper work and an officer spends a further 5 minutes
processing the entry and releasing the goods. Bonza Brokers is charged as follows:
Full import declaration levy - sea
Document assessment fee
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$42
2 x $30
$60
$102
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Scenario—Full import declaration by sea
Charlene is importing a consignment of new tyres by sea, valued over $1 000. She is using a
departmental accredited broker who is able to assess her documents under the Automatic Entry
Processing for commodities scheme (AEPCOMM) for commodities scheme. All her documents are in
order and the goods do not need inspection. Charlene will pay a full import declaration levy as
follows:
Full import declaration levy - sea
$42
Total
$42
Scenario— Assessment by a biosecurity officer, inspection required
Kim is importing a container of rice. She submits documents to the department for assessment. It
takes 8 minutes for the biosecurity officer to conduct the assessment.
An inspection of the rice is required. Kim books an appointment for an inspection at her warehouse.
There is no officer permanently stationed there. The inspection takes 25 minutes. Kim is charged as
follows:
Full import declaration levy - sea
$42
In-office assessment fee
1 x $30
$30
Out-of-office inspection fee
2 x $50
$100
Total
$172
Scenario— Rural tailgate
Bob is a broker accredited under the Non-commodity for Containerised Cargo Clearance (NCCC)
scheme. He lodges a FID for his client’s 5 containers of steel pipes to be delivered to a rural
destination. Bob assesses the documents as acceptable and enters an AEPCOMM code to have the
rural tailgate inspections performed at a depot where an officer is permanently located. Each
container takes 15 minutes to inspect. Bob is charged as follows:
Full import declaration levy - sea
In-office inspection fee
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$42
5 x $30
$150
$192
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Scenario— UPEs at a HVSO
A HVSO has a 4 hour recurring appointment each week for a single inspector. A booking and billing
AIMS entry is created to track charges for a two week period. During this period, staff are also
required to release 10 consignment holds in the ICS. The HVSO is charged an in-office fee for creating
the entry, 8 hours of out-of-office inspection fees and two in-office fees for releasing ICS holds. The
HVSO is charged as follows:
In-office assessment fee
3 x $30
$90
Out-of-office inspection fee
8 x $50
$400
Total
$490
Scenario— SAC inspections at a bond registered premises
Two officers are booked to inspect goods imported via air cargo. The inspection booking time is 3
hours. A booking and billing AIMS entry is created to track fees. The client is charged an in-office fee
for creating the entry and six hours of out-of-office inspection fees (3 hours for two staff) as follows:
In-office assessment fee
1 x $30
$30
Out-of-office inspection fee
24 x $50
$1 200
Total
$1 230
Scenario— Unaccompanied personal effects (UPE)
Tony brings his UPE documents to the service front counter for decision from the department on
whether his goods require inspection. The staff member spends 5 minutes assessing the documents
and decides an inspection is required. The staff member spends another 10 minutes creating a
manual AIMS entry to manage the inspection. The client is charged the $30 in-office fee for creating
the AIMS entry. When the consignment was inspected, it occurred at a small depot where officers
are not permanently located. The inspection took an hour which was charged at the out-of-office
rate of $50. Tony is charged as follows:
In-office inspection fee
1 x $30
$30
Out-of-office inspection fee
4 x $50
$200
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$230
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Scenario—Full import declaration and document assessment
Deli Foods import a consignment of food by air and is required to lodge and pay for a FID in the ICS.
The consignment is referred to AIMS for both biosecurity and imported food reasons. The officer
processing the entry is qualified to assess it for both imported food and biosecurity risks. He takes 15
minutes to assess the biosecurity risks and 30 minutes to assess the imported food documents. Deli
Foods is charged as follows:
Full import declaration levy - air
Document assessment fee
$33
3 x $30
Total
$90
$123
4.3 Import permits
Based on the Quarantine Proclamation 1998, some commodities are only permitted entry into
Australia upon assessment, approval and issuance of an import permit.
An importer is required to submit an application for a permit to import quarantine material to the
department. The department will assess the application and, on the basis of that assessment, may
approve and issue an import permit. This permit details the conditions of import for that specific
commodity deemed necessary to minimise biosecurity risks to an acceptable level. The department
charges fees for these services (see Table 5).
The application for an import permit must be accompanied by full payment for the permit
application ($120 per application) and the assessment fee. The assessment fee is a unit price
determined by which category the goods belong (Table 6). Applications are not assessed until full
payment is received. If additional assessment is required, a 15 minute (or part thereof) fee for service
is applied. The fee for service rate may also include overtime rates if an urgent permit is required.
The importer is invoiced separately for this fee. Applications do not guarantee an import permit will
be granted.
Each product listed on a permit application is usually classified as an assessable item. Multiple
products listed on a permit application may be grouped and a single assessment fee charged where
the department determines that a common level of biosecurity risk exists across the product
grouping. For example, products with common ingredient lists that are labelled differently, on the
basis of different ingredient proportions, may be able to be grouped as one assessable item. In the
case of importing animals, this does not apply to more than one animal on the same application
form.
Where the department is required to manually enter details of the permit, because the information
is not provided by the department’s automated system, then it will charge the in-office rate of $30
per 15 minutes taken to input the data.
Tables 5 and 6 outline the charges for permit application and assessment.
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Table 5: Import permit charges
Charge type
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Permit application
Levy
$120
Per application
In-office
Fee
$30
Out-of-office
Fee
$50
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Table 6: Permit category fees
Permit Category
Fee
Category 1: Assessment of an application for a permit, or variation of a permit —for
standard goods
$60
Category 2: Assessment of an application for a permit, or variation of a permit —for any of
the following non-standard goods:
$120
A product to which a compliance agreement applies; canned pet food; a cell line derived
from laboratory animals; cats or dogs, other than the first cat or dog in a consignment;
cosmetics; cut flowers; dried herbs, dried spices; food items for human consumption;
fruit; genetically modified plant material; herbarium specimens not infected or infested;
hides or skins; human therapeutics (private and commercial); human vaccines; laboratory
material (proteins, DNA, animal sera); microbes; natural fibres and fibre products;
non-organic fertiliser (bulk); plant-based stockfeed samples for in-vitro use; plant
material, seeds or grains, or both, for in-vitro use; seeds or grains for processing or
human consumption or both; a cell line derived from a non-laboratory animal; a
fermented product that is not a veterinary therapeutic product or a stock food product; a
parasite; soil samples; vegetables; water
Category 3: Assessment of an application for a permit, or variation of a permit —for any of
the following non-standard goods:
$240
Herbal teas; herbarium specimens infected and infested; oversized timber that is not for
milling; plant material and seeds or grains for in-vitro use (infected or infested); plant
pollen for in-vivo use; a micro-organism (possible pathogen); aquaculture feed or bait;
wood chips or charcoal for cooking or smoking food
Category 4: Assessment of an application for a permit, or variation of a permit —for any of
the following non-standard goods:
$360
Animal reproductive material; biological control agent; bird seed; live animals, including
the first cat or dog in a consignment, but not subsequent cats or dogs in a consignment;
plant-based stock feed; plant pathogens for in-vivo or in-vitro use; seed or plant material
for processing into pet food; bulk culture (medium); dried pet food; organic fertiliser
Category 5: Assessment of an application for a permit, or variation of a permit —for any of
the following non-standard goods:
$480
Biological material for in-vivo use; a single new master seed; an additional new master
seed which is part of a live or inactivated veterinary vaccine; a single new veterinary
vaccine that is live or inactivated with a single master seed; a single veterinary vaccine
renewal that is live or inactivated
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Scenario: Importing multiple products with similar risks
VetPro applies for an import permit to import three veterinary therapeutic products. All three
products are similar and contain the same active biological ingredient – moxidectin– which is
manufactured identically and by the same manufacturer. VetPro is charged one application fee and
one category 5 permit fee (as all products are essentially the same). VetPro is charged as follows:
Import permit application
$120
Category 5 import permit
$480
Total
$600
Scenario: Importing goods from multiple countries of origin
SalmonPlus applies for an import permit to import salmon from 3 different supply chains:
- Salmon sourced from Canada, processed and exported from Denmark
- Salmon sourced from Canada, processed and exported from Poland
- Salmon sourced, processed and exported from Denmark.
SalmonPlus is charged as follows::
Import permit application
Category 2 import permit
$120
3 x $120
Total
$360
$480
Scenario: Plant based stockfeed product from the Solomon Islands
A stock feed producer has lodged an import permit application for a plant based stockfeed product
from the Solomon Islands to be used in animal feed.
The complexity of the application means that the time taken to assess and approve the permit is a
total of 4 hours which is longer than the expected 3 hours of assessment for a category 4 permit.
The stock feed producer is charged as follows:
Import permit application
$120
Category 4 import permit
$360
Assessment (in-house)
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
4 x $30
$120
$600
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Scenario: Consignment of used vehicles
RefurbAuto imports a consignment of containerised used vehicles with parts and used spare tyres.
The importer applies for an import permit for the used tyres before the vehicles are imported. On
arrival the vehicles are directed to a Quarantine Approved Premises (QAP) for inspection which takes
4 hours. One of the vehicles is contaminated and requires treatment at the QAP. The vehicle is
reinspected after it is cleaned. RefurbAuto is charged as follows:
Import permit application
$120
Category 1 import permit
$60
FID
$42
AIMS document assessment
1 x $30
$30
Inspection (out-of-office)
16 x $50
$800
Reinspection
2 x $50
$100
Additional document assessment
1 x $30
$30
Total
$1 182
4.4 Post entry quarantine
Charges for animals and plants using the Australian Government’s post entry quarantine (PEQ)
facilities include levies and fees (see Table 7).
A levy is applied to all plants and animals on arrival to the PEQ facility. For animals, the levy applies
once for the animal’s or consignment’s entire scheduled stay in quarantine, regardless of duration. If
the animal or consignment stays in PEQ longer (because of a health concern or otherwise), the
importer does not incur additional levy costs, only additional husbandry fee costs.
For plants, the levy is charged each month (or part thereof) per square metre of plant material. This
is because plants are held in post entry quarantine for varying durations, depending on the species
and country of origin.
Importers are charged a fee for husbandry activities which includes activities to support the care and
maintenance of the animals or plants. For animals, the husbandry fee is applied as a daily or monthly
rate per animal or consignment. For plants, the husbandry fee is applied per square metre (m2) as a
monthly fee.
Importers also pay for any in-office activities undertaken by departmental staff, such as the
assessment of paper work and assessment of animals on arrival. The fee for in-office activities is $30
per 15 minutes.
Additional charges
A number of additional charges could apply to clients while their consignment is in post entry
quarantine where additional activities are provided. All additional charges must be paid prior to
consignments leaving post entry quarantine.
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Activities that attract additional charges include:

overstays – where an animal/s or plant/s stays in post entry quarantine longer than the minimum
stay (because of a health concern or any other reason)

diagnostic testing – where officers undertake testing for plant diseases and includes the cost of
materials used (see Table 8)

additional activities undertaken by a departmental officer (such as supervision of a private
veterinarian, pollination and grafting of plants)

where a house is used by an importer at the Torrens Island Quarantine Station.
Transitional arrangements
Transitional arrangements for PEQ for the 2015–16 financial year are provided in Attachment 1.
Reservations and payment
Importers of live birds and eggs must pay a reservation charge at the time of reserving a place at the
PEQ facility. The reservation levy for live birds is $2 810 and for fertile eggs is $7 826. The remainder
of the levy and the husbandry fees for the minimum stay are payable when the booking is confirmed.
The reservation levy forms part of the entry levy where applied.
For other animals the levy and husbandry fees for the minimum stay, as determined by the animal
and origin, must be paid when confirming the reservation.
Table 7: Post entry quarantine charges
Type
Importer Levies
Legislated rate
Unit
Levy
$3000
Per animal
Levy
$1 200
Per animal
PEQ importation charge—bees
Levy
$2 500
Per bees consignment
PEQ importation charge—avians
(fertile eggs)
Levy
PEQ importation charge—avians
(live bird)
Levy
PEQ importation charge—plants
Levy
$110
Per m2 monthly
(or part thereof)
Biosecurity Arrangement fees—
husbandry
Type
Rate
Unit
Fee
$60
Fee
$29
PEQ husbandry fee—bees
Fee
$280
PEQ husbandry fee—avians
(fertile eggs)
Fee
$200
PEQ importation charge—horses or
ruminants or animal (other than a
cat or dog) > 25 kg
PEQ importation charge—cats or
dogs or animals ≤ 25 kg
PEQ husbandry fee—horses or
ruminants or animals (other than a
cat or dog) > 25 kg
PEQ husbandry fee—cats or dogs
or animals ≤ 25 kg
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$39 130
(includes $7 826
reservation levy)
$14 050
(includes $ 2 810
reservation levy)
Per hatching egg consignment
Per live bird consignment
Per animal per day
(or part thereof)
Per animal per day
(or part thereof)
Per bee consignment monthly
(or part thereof)
Per egg consignment per day
(or part thereof)
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
PEQ husbandry fee—avians
(live birds)
Fee
$150
PEQ husbandry fee—plants
Fee
$20
Per live bird consignment per
day (or part thereof)
Per m2 monthly
(or part thereof)
Scenario: Importing cats
Sally is importing her two cats from the United Kingdom, which requires an import permit for each
animal. They must undertake all required pre-export checks and vaccinations as part of their import
permit application. Sally is charged for an application and import permit for both animals.
She books the cats into the PEQ facility. The cats and their paperwork are assessed at the PEQ facility
on arrival and they remain in post entry quarantine for the scheduled 10 days. Sally is charged as
follows:
Import permit application
$120 x 2
$240
Category 4 import permit (first cat)
$360
Category 2 import permit (additional cat)
$120
PEQ levy
$1200 x 2
$2 400
Veterinary examination
$30 x 2
$60
Document assessment
$30 x 2
$60
$29 x 10 x 2
$580
Daily fee
Total
$3 820
Scenario: Cost of caring for strawberries in PEQ
Damien is importing strawberries and requires 5 m2 of bench space at the PEQ facility. The
strawberries will need to be in PEQ for a minimum period of 18 months. He will need to pay for a
permit application of $120, a category 2 permit for importing fruit $120, plant care fees of $20 per
m2 per month and a levy of $110 per m2 per month. Damien is charged as follows:
Import permit application
$120 x 1
$120
Category 2 import permit (fruit)
$120 x 1
$120
PEQ levy
$110 x 5 x 18
$9 900
Plant care
$20 x 5 x 18
$1 800
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$11 940
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Table 8: Operational science diagnostic testing fees
Consumable
costs
Time (mins)
Price
Visual examination
$0
15
$30
Electron Microscopy
$5
60
$125
Complex identification (per species, excluding PCR)
$5
120
$245
Fungal or bacterial isolation (per species)
$15
45
$105
Nematode extraction (multiple species)
$15
45
$105
Serological (ELISA) - 1st test
$20
60
$140
ELISA - Additional tests (with additional extraction)
$20
30
$80
ELISA - Additional tests (with no additional extraction)
$20
15
$50
Molecular (PCR) - 1st test
$25
150
$325
Molecular (PCR) - additional tests (with additional
extraction)
$25
45
$115
Molecular (PCR) - additional tests (with no additional
extraction)
$10
15
$40
Molecular sequencing
$25
45
$115
Biological testing - Herbaceous indicators
(inoculation and interpretation of results)
$5
30
$65
Biological testing - Herbaceous indicators
(additional tests)
$5
20
$65
Biological testing - Woody indicators
(interpretation of results)
$0
15
$30
Shoot tip grafting
$157
1 050
$2 257
Next Generation Sequencing
$500
105
$710
$1 100
450
$2 000
Test
High throughput qPCR6 (100 tests per day during nonpeak testing period)
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4.5 Aircraft, travellers and mail
The department partially recovers the costs for biosecurity activities on international mail, through a
biosecurity services fee paid by Australia Post. Where the department does not cost recover through
the service fee, it meets the costs of biosecurity clearance of mail through appropriation funding.
The department also receives appropriation for the management of biosecurity risks associated with
international travellers and luggage at airports. There are some circumstances where charges apply
(See Aircraft services below).
Where a treatment service, such as fumigation, is arranged by the department but provided by a
third party, a fee equivalent to the cost incurred by the department in arranging and paying for the
third party to provide the service, including freight and administration costs, will be charged (see
Tables 9 and 10).
Table 9: Treatment costs for international mail*
Fee
Ethylene oxide treatment
Fumigation treatment
Gamma irradiation treatment
Heat treatment
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Fee
$75
Per treatment/item
Fee
$75
Per treatment/item
Fee
$75
Per treatment/item
Fee
$95
Per treatment/item
*The department charges for third party treatment costs and costs in arranging treatment.
Aircraft services
Fees apply where officers are required to undertake activities associated with an airline’s failure to
meet their disinsection requirements. For example, where the disinsection is not performed or not
performed adequately. Fees also apply for an officer’s services to supervise the handling and disposal
of aircraft and terminal waste. The applicable fee is $30 per 15 minutes for each officer performing
the service. Where these services are performed in a location where departmental officers are not
usually available, the out-of-office fee of $50 applies.
International travellers arriving with commercial consignments are subject to in-office assessment
and inspection fees, both charged at $30 per 15 minutes (see Table 10). The examination of personal
luggage accompanying a traveller is not subject to charges.
Where an officer (upon the traveller’s request) arranges for their goods to be stored in an area
subject to biosecurity controls until the in-transit traveller departs Australia for an international
destination, a $30 storage fee per item of luggage is applied. This only applies if the traveller is
departing Australia from the same airport as they arrived in. Goods under the department’s control
are not forwarded to another international airport within Australia for the traveller to collect on their
way out of the country.
Inspection of cruise day travellers
When cruise ships dock temporarily at various locations in Australia (including at remote locations)
and travellers disembark temporarily for ‘shore excursions’, officers may attend and undertake
compliance inspections of those travellers. This is an expedited clearance, generally quicker than
would be required if the travellers were disembarking for a longer period, given that most of their
luggage remains on board the vessel. Fees are charged at the in-office rate for locations where
officers are usually available and out-of-office rates for other locations.
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Table 10: Fee for service
Fee for Service
Type
Legislated rate
In-office
Fee
$30
Out-of-office
Fee
$50
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Quarantine treatment of goods*
Fee
$100
Per treatment/item
Storage of goods in quarantine
Fee
$30
Per luggage
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
*The department charges for third party treatment and costs in arranging treatment.
4.6 Approved arrangements (including Food Import Compliance
Agreements)
Approved arrangements include food import compliance agreements (FICA), QAPs and compliance
agreements (CAs). Specifically they include the NCCC and the AEPCOMM as these are CAs under the
Quarantine Act.
Charges relating to approved arrangements are set out in Table 11. Applications for an entity seeking
to enter into their first approved arrangement will pay a one-off $180 application levy. This levy will
not apply for any entity that already holds an approved arrangement.
Assessments of an approved arrangement application will be charged $30 per 15 minutes. Where a
physical structure is inspected as part of the application the standard fee of $50 per 15 minutes will
apply to all activities performed out-of-office.
All entities, holding a unique ABN, that operate an approved arrangement will pay an annual levy of
$2 900, regardless of how many approved arrangements they may hold – so no matter how many
quarantine approved premises or compliance agreements that entity has, they only pay one levy.
Audits of the arrangements and training of entity staff (where provided by the department) will be
charged according to whether the service is provided in or out of office at either the standard $30
per 15 minutes or $50 per 15 minutes. Where an officer is required for one or more working days a
daily rate of $1 000 per day applies.
Pre- audit activities including organising the audit appointment, providing formal notification of the
audit, undertaking ‘trace forward’ and ‘trace back’ exercises in preparation for the audit are
chargeable. Similarly, activities undertaken at the conclusion of an audit such as writing the audit
report, corrective action request management, updating quarantine premises register and providing
submissions on critical non-conformities are also chargeable.
Any variation to an approved arrangement would also be subject to the relevant fees for service.
Transitional arrangements for 2015–16 applying to quarantine approved premises and imported food
compliance agreements are provided at Attachment 1.
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Table 11: Approved arrangements charges
Approved arrangement levies
Type
Legislated Rate
Unit
Approved arrangement application
charge
Levy
$180
Per new application
Approved arrangement annual charge
Levy
$2 900
Per entity
Fee for service
Type
Legislated Rate
Unit
In-office fee
Fee
$30
Out–of-office fee
Fee
$50
Daily rate
Fee
$1 000
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per working day
Scenario—A business operates a QAP and fumigation compliance agreement.
Each year it is audited a total of 4 hours for both arrangements. This includes 2 hours in office and 2
hours out of office including the work undertaken in preparation for the audit and reporting after the
audit is conducted. The business is charged as follows:
Annual levy
$2 900
Audit in office
8 X $30
$240
Audit out of office
8 X $50
$400
Total
$3540
4.7 Vessel entries and inspections
All vessels pay a levy on arrival to Australia. The levy recovers the cost of activities that support the
management of biosecurity risks on incoming international vessels (for example, risk assessment of
pathways), not activities provided to individual clients. However, costs are dependent on vessel size
reflecting the different biosecurity risks posed:


Vessel less than 25 metres: $100
Vessel 25 metres or more: $720.
Fees apply to activities provided to individual clients. A standard fee of $30 per 15 minutes applies
for all activities performed in-office, such as assessment of documents in relation to a pre-arrival
report and ballast water assessment. Inspections of vessels more than 25 meters are expected to
take 2 hours. A standard out-of-office fee of $50 per 15 minutes applies to vessel inspections.
Assessments of a vessel’s pre-arrival report and compliance, including ballast water compliance
assessments, will be charged in-office fees. It is expected that pre-arrival assessments will take
around 40 minutes for routine assessments and longer for more complex assessments. Vessel
charges are outlined in Table 12. Other assessment activities associated with the entry of individual
vessels include:

seasonal pest assessments
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
livestock vessel assessments

ship sanitation certificate assessments

cruise vessel health reporting assessments

crew change assessments.
When officers are required to inspect vessels at non-proclaimed ports, the travel involved with
delivering these services may undertaken through contractual arrangements.
Table 12: Vessel charges
Vessel operator levies
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Vessel (≥25m) arrival charge
Levy
$720
Per vessel
Vessel (<25m) arrival charge
Levy
$100
Per vessel
Fee for service
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
In-office fee
Fee
$30
Out–of-office fee
Fee
$50
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Scenario—Vessel assessment and routine vessel (≥25m) inspection
A vessel is arriving in Sydney to discharge and load cargo prior to departing.
A pre arrival report was provided for the vessel’s arrival but was incomplete and required additional
time (30 mins – in-office) to request complete information be provided by the Master or agent and
assess the information in the response. The ballast water compliance assessment took 30 mins. Total
service charge of 60 mins (in-office fee).
The vessel receives the (≥25m) vessel arrival charge and is scheduled for inspection by an officer. The
officer takes 10 minutes in-office to prepare the inspection paperwork. The out-of-office inspection
takes 2 hours. Upon returning to the office it takes another 10 minutes to complete the inspection
paperwork. The vessel is charged as follows:
Document assessment
4 X $30
$120
Vessel (≥25m) arrival charge
1 X $720
$720
In-office fee
2 X $30
$60
Inspection (out-of-office)
8 X $50
$400
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$1 300
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Scenario—Vessel (≥25m) documentary assessment
A vessel is arriving in Port Hedland from an overseas port. There is no crew change or disembarking
and no high risk triggers are identified. All information provided in the pre-arrival report is complete
and accurate taking only 15 minutes to assess. The department takes 30 minutes to assess the inoffice ballast water compliance assessment. The vessel is issued a documentary clearance. The vessel
arrival levy >25m is applied along with the ballast water compliance assessment fee. The vessel is
charged as follows:
Vessel (≥25m) arrival levy
In-office assessment
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$720
$720
3 X $30
$90
$810
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5 General Export Provisions
This section outlines the common provisions for departmental officers undertaking export
certification related functions. It also provides instruction on the application of charges for each
activity performed.
5.1 Export documents and certificates
Importing countries impose a number of conditions on the Australian Government and exporters
that need to be met to ensure Australian products are eligible for entry into their country and across
their borders. To meet these strict conditions the department undertakes a range of administrative,
management, monitoring and verification activities. Exporters must obtain an export permit prior to
the departure of goods from Australia. Additional export certification may be required by overseas
government authorities to verify that the exported products comply with their respective import
conditions.
Replacement certificates
Replacement certificate fees apply where the goods have left Australia or the certificate is requested
by the importing country. This fee is chargeable per each replacement document issued (i.e. per
phytosanitary certificate, export permit, health certificate or other government document).
Examples of when a replacement certificate fee would apply include:





part of a consignment being ‘rolled’ into another vessel once certification has been issued,
and the amendments result in a new certificate being issued
a request for multiple certificates after a single certificate has been issued. Each newly issued
certificate will be a Replacement Certificate and will incur the nominated fee
changing details in an RFP from one country to another
changing details in a permit or health certificate after issuance
requests for additional documents after the initial permit(s) and/or health certificate(s) have
been issued.
Replacement fees are not charged where the certificate is required to be replaced because there is
no departmental seal, official mark or officer’s signature. Fees are not charged as a result of changes
to the date of departure, transportation details or where there have been changes to importing
country requirements and where these changes could not have been reasonably determined by the
client.
Where an exporter requests a replacement permit or health certificate, a fee of $500 per document
applies.
5.2 Organics
A $600 levy will apply for organisations seeking to become an organic certifying organisation. An
annual levy of $7 500 applies where an organisation approved by the department wishes to maintain
its approval as an organic certifying organisation. Audits of these arrangements are charged at $33
per 15 minutes.
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Table 13: Organics fee and levy
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Post
remission
rate
Unit
Application
Levy
$600
$600
Per application
Organic Certifying Organisation
Levy
$7 500
$7 500
Annual
Audit
Fee
$33
$33
Per 15 minutes
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6 Live Animal Export Certification
Live animal export certification is defined as an Export Permit and Health Certificate issued by the
department under the Export Control (Animals) Orders 2004. The department’s activities to regulate
the export of live animals and reproductive material include the livestock export licences, assessment
of notice of intentions to export, assessment of exporter supply chains, inspection of animals prior to
export and provision of export permits and health certificates.
6.1 Exemptions
Activities that may be exempted from charges include disability and assistance dogs (as defined in
the legislation) or activities which relate to exports of animals by an organisation approved by the
Secretary that provides aid or assistance in a foreign country.
Exporters may apply for an exemption from specified provisions of an export control order. The
assessment of an application for an exemption for live animals and reproductive material is charged
at $55 per 15 minutes.
6.2 Application for Approval and Approval Variations
A levy of $600 applies to all new applications seeking some form of approval (see Table 14). A levy of
$300 applies where an exporter seeks to vary an existing approval. For example, a holder of a
livestock approved arrangement may seek to vary an existing approved arrangement to include other
species of livestock.
The levies associated with an application for approval or an application for a variation to an approval
apply irrespective of the outcome of the application.
Table 14: Application and variation levies
Charge title
Approved arrangements, Australian Government
accredited veterinarian, ESCAS, Export licences and
registered premises applications
Approved arrangements, Australian Government
accredited veterinarian, ESCAS, Export licences and
registered premises applications
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Levy
$600
Application
Levy
$300
Variation
6.3 Export licence and approved arrangement levies
Livestock exporters that do not hold an approved arrangement are charged a levy for an exporter
licence. The relevant levies are $600 per application and an annual levy of $25 000 per year (see
Table 15).
A livestock exporter that applies to enter into an approved arrangement pays an application levy and
an annual levy of $20 000 if exporting by sea or an annual levy of $10 000 if exporting livestock by air.
Livestock exporters who export by both air and sea pay the higher rate.
Livestock exporters need to be under an approved arrangement by 1 January 2017. If an exporter
transitions onto an approved arrangement part way through the financial year, charges are adjusted
down to reflect the difference between the export licence and the approved arrangement levy.
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Small and infrequent livestock exporters are able to apply for an annual exemption from an approved
arrangement. The cost for an application is $600. Those exporters that are granted an exemption
from holding an approved arrangement are required to pay an annual export licence levy of $5 000.
Table 15: Livestock licence and approved arrangement levies
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Approved Arrangement (sea) livestock
Levy
$20 000
Annual
Approved Arrangement (other) including livestock
exported by air
Levy
$10 000
Annual
Livestock Export License
Levy
$25 000
Annual
Small and infrequent livestock export licence
Levy
$5 000
Annual
6.4 Livestock throughput levies
The throughput charge per head of exported livestock is set out in Table 16. The levies apply for each
animal exported irrespective of the export market. The throughput charge is determined by the total
number of animals listed on the export certificates for the consignment.
Table 16: Livestock throughput levies
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Throughput - Full Unit
(Cattle/Buffalo/Camelids)
Levy
$1.21
Animal
Throughput (Sheep/Goat)
Levy
$ 0.31
Animal
Scenario—Livestock exporter application
On the Hoof, a livestock company, approaches the department and wishes to become a licenced
livestock exporter of sheep by air and sea. They firstly apply for an export licence submitting an
application levy of $600. On approval of the export licence, the exporter is required to pay the annual
levy of $25 000.
Six months later, On the Hoof submits an application for an approved arrangement with a $600
application levy. On approval of the approved arrangement, On the Hoof is required to pay the
annual levy for an approved arrangements – Livestock by Sea of $20 000. As the approval is provided
within 6 months of the end of the financial year, the levy is applied at half the rate.
The exporter is refunded the livestock export license levy amount for the remainder of the financial
year. On the Hoof is charged for the export licence and approved arrangement as follows:
Export licence application
$600
Livestock export licence
$25 000
Approved arrangement application
Approved Arrangement (sea) Livestock levy
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$600
0.5 x $20 000
$10 000
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
Refund of export licence
(6 months)
-$12 500
Total
$23 700
Scenario—Approved arrangements
During 2017–18, Mobile Meaty Chunks, a highly compliant livestock exporter, operating under an
approved arrangement, exports 120 000 cattle from Darwin to Indonesia. The cattle are exported
over 12 consignments with three importers for each consignment.
Due to the exporter’s highly compliant history, the department spent a total of 10 hours auditing
their facility throughout the year. For each consignment, the department spent 2.5 hours inspecting
the consignment (including pre and post inspection work). Inspections occur at the registered
premises located 150 km away and at the wharf.
Mobile Meat Chunks is charged as follows:
Approved arrangement levy
Throughput levy
$20 000
$20 000
120 000 x $1.21
$145 200
Inspection fee
120 x $54
$6 480
Audit fee
40 x $43
$1 720
Export permit fee
36 x $60
$2 160
Health certificate fee
36 x $60
$2 160
Total
$177 720
Scenario— Small infrequent exporter – exemption
A company, Movable Meat, approaches the department and wishes to export a single consignment
of cattle of less than 500 animals. The exporter applies for exemption from the requirement to
operate under an approved arrangement. This application also provides the necessary details for a
livestock export license. On approval of the exemption, Movable Meat is assessed for a livestock
export license (no additional charge). Subject to meeting the requirements, Moveable Meat is
required to pay the annual levy of $5 000 for the small and infrequent exporter livestock export
license.
Moveable Meat is now a licenced exporter and is ready to commence the process to prepare a single
consignment of livestock for export. Moveable meat is charged as follows:
Approval application
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$600
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Export licence application
Nil
Small and infrequent livestock export licence
$5 000
Total
$5 600
6.5 Premises charges
An annual levy of $5 000 applies to premises registered for the export of livestock by sea.
For exporters seeking listing of premises for the purposes of satisfying importing country
requirements (for example, listing as a reproductive material collection centre for the European
Union). A fee for service of $54 per 15 minutes or part thereof for inspection services applies to
assess that the premises meets importing country requirements.
Table 17: Premises levy
Charge title
Livestock (Premises) Registration
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Levy
$5 000
Annual
6.6 Certificate charges
Export permits are a legislative requirement for each consignment (both livestock and non- livestock)
and most importing countries also require health certificates attesting that the consignment meets
their requirements. The department charges for each departmental document (certificate and/or
permit) issued (each consignment requires at least one export permit and usually at least one health
certificate). Table 18 outlines documentation charges for exporters of live animals and reproductive
material.
A documentation fee of $60 is applied to the exporter for each permit and health certificate issued
by the department. The document fees covers the costs associated with assessing inspection results,
verifying vaccine declarations and test results etc. The document fees also cover the cost of
preparing and issuing these documents. It does not include time examining the documents in
preparation for an inspection.
Where an exporter requests multiple permits or health certificates for the one consignment, a
separate fee applies to each permit and health certificate that is provided.
A levy of $130 is applied per permit for all reproductive material and non-livestock live animal export
permits. Where an exporter requests multiple export permits for the one consignment, a separate
levy is applied to each permit that is provided.
Table 18: Documentation charges
Document Charges
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Export Permit (non-livestock)
Levy
$130
Document
Export permit or health certificate
Fee
$60
Document
Replacement Export permit or health certificate
Fee
$500
Document
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6.7 Inspection and audit fees
All live animal and reproductive material exporters are subject to inspection fees of $54 per 15
minutes or part thereof as required. This fee also applies to any pre and post inspection work
undertaken. For live animals, pre-inspection work would include assessing lab reports, animal
identification lists, pregnancy test results and premises approval.
All live animal and reproductive material exporters are subject to audit fees of $43 per 15 minutes or
part thereof as required. In circumstances where there is a need for a specialist auditor (such as a
veterinarian) to undertake an audit, a higher rate of $103 per 15 minutes applies (see Table 19).
Audit activities also include the examination of documents in preparation for an audit as well as
entering results of the audit.
Table 19: Inspection and audit fees
Fee for Service
Inspection
Inspection additional
Type
Legislated rate
Fee
$54
Fee
$71#
Unit
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Audit
Audit
Type
Rate
Fee
$43
Fee
$103
Unit
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
per 15 minutes
Specialised Audit
(or part thereof)
# This fee will apply in the future where an exporter could use an approved authorised officer but instead chooses to
use a departmental officer.
Overtime rates
The standard departmental overtime rates, as set out in the general provisions section, apply to
departmental officers. Separate overtime rates apply to veterinarians conducting inspections (see
Table 20).
Table 20: Additional overtime rates for veterinarians
Overtime item
Type
Legislated rate
Overtime – weekday veterinarian
Overtime weekday veterinarian
(non-continuous)
Fee
$21
Fee
$42
Unit
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Overtime weekend/ public holiday
veterinarian (non- continuous)
Fee
$58
Overtime weekend/ public holiday
veterinarian (additional)
Fee
$29
per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
per 15 minutes
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
(or part thereof)
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Scenario—Exporting 2 dogs to Singapore
Penny, a resident of Australia, plans to move to Singapore and take her two dogs with her. She
contacts a pet transport company to assist with the process. It is an importing country requirement
to inspect the animal prior to export. The department will spend five minutes undertaking the
inspection of each animal. Five minutes is also spent on pre-inspection and post-inspection (ten
minutes in total). The department is required to issue one export permit and one health certificate
covering both animals. The service is provided during ordinary hours. Penny is charged as follows:
Export permit levy
1 x $130
$130
Export permit fee
1 x $60
$60
Health certificate fee
1 x $60
$60
Inspection (including pre and post inspection)
1 x $54
$54
Total
$304
Scenario—Exporting 1 cat to the US
Joe, a resident of Australia, plans to move to USA and take his cat with him. He contacts a pet
transport company to assist with the process. The department is not required to inspect the animal.
The department is required to issue one export permit and one health certificate for the cat. The
service is provided during ordinary hours.
Joe is charged as follows:
Export permit levy
1 x $130
$130
Export permit fee
1 x $60
$60
Health certificate fee
1 x $60
$60
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$250
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Scenario—Exporting 10 horses to Europe
Pegasus, a horse exporter, submits a notice of intent to export a consignment of 10 horses to Europe
by air on a Monday. The consignment is inspected during ordinary hours, between 2 and 3 pm. Only
one export permit is required for the consignment, but a health certificate is required for each
animal.
Document assessment is undertaken by the regional officer in advance of the scheduled departure.
The inspector undertakes 15 minutes additional pre-inspection preparation in the regional office the
day the consignment is scheduled for departure.
The inspector undertakes 15 minutes after the inspection regional office to close the inspection
event and enter the required information into the department’s systems.
The inspector assesses the inspection results and verifies declarations before preparing and signing
the required certification.
Pegasus is charged as follows:
Export permit levy
1 x $130
$130
Export permit fee
1 x $60
$60
Health certificate fee
10 x $60
$600
Pre inspection
1 x $54
$54
Inspection
4 x $54
$216
Post inspection
1 x $54
$54
Total
$1 114
Scenario—Specialist Audit
A facility approved for the collection and storage of reproductive material requires regular audits by
a department veterinary officer in order to comply with importing country requirements. The pre
audit preparation takes 30 minutes. The on-site audit takes 2 hours and post-audit reporting and
finalisation takes 1 hour.
The facility is charged as follows:
Specialist audit fee
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
14 x $103
$1 442
$1 442
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Scenario—6 horses to Europe – overtime
An exporter submits a notice of intent to export a consignment of 6 horses to Europe by air on a
Wednesday between 6 pm and 6.45 pm. The consignment inspection commences in ordinary hours.
A single export permit is required, but a health certificate is required for each horse.
Document assessment is undertaken by the regional officer in advance of the scheduled departure.
The inspector undertakes 15 minutes additional pre-inspection preparation in the regional office the
day the consignment is scheduled for departure.
The inspection takes place on a Wednesday between 6 pm and 6.45 pm. The base inspection fee of
$54 per 15 minutes applies for 45 minutes. The minimum weekday overtime fee of half an hour
applies.
The inspector undertakes 15 minutes post-inspection work the next day in the regional office to close
the inspection event and enter the required information into the department’s systems. The
inspector assesses the inspection results and verifies declarations before preparing and signing the
required certification.
The exporter is charged as follows:
Export permit levy
1 x $130
$130
Export permit fee
1 x $60
$60
Health certificate fee
6 x $60
$360
Pre inspection
1 x $54
$54
Inspection
3 x $54
$162
Post inspection
1 x $54
$54
Overtime weekday
2 x $15
$60
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$880
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Scenario— Reproductive material export to New Zealand
An exporter, Liquid Life, submits a notice of intent to export a consignment of reproductive material
to New Zealand by air. The consignment inspection commences in ordinary hours. A single export
permit and health certificate is required the consignment. The exporter cancels their inspection
appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice.
A cancellation fee of $54 will apply for the late notice of cancelling their inspection appointment. The
original assessment of the pre inspection documentation took 10 minutes.
The exporter reschedules their inspection appointment for 2 days later. Due to the delay, the pre
inspection documents need to be reassessed taking 7 minutes.
The inspection takes place on a Wednesday between 1.00 and 1.30 pm and takes 23 minutes.
The inspector undertakes 5 minutes post-inspection work in the regional office to close the
inspection event and enter the required information into the department’s systems.
The inspector assesses the inspection results and verifies declarations before preparing and signing
the required certification.
Liquid Life is charged as follows:
Short notice cancellation fee
1 x $54
$54
Export permit levy
1 x $130
$130
Export permit fee
1 x $60
$60
Health certificate fee
1 x $60
$60
Pre inspection- original
1 x $54
$54
Pre inspection - rescheduled
1 x $54
$54
Inspection
1 x $54
$54
Post inspection
1 x $54
$54
Total
$520
6.8 Vaccines and non-reusable materials
Payment is required for vaccines and non-reusable materials purchased by officers in the provision of
services. This fee is the same as the cost incurred by the department in purchasing the materials.
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7 Plant Export Certification
7.1 Plant exports charging
The export of plants and plant products is a controlled activity and is regulated in accordance with
the Export Control Act 1982 and its subordinate legislation.
7.2 Exemptions
Consignments comprising less than 10kg do not require a notice of intention to export/export permit
and therefore no export permit documentation fee applies. See Export Control (Prescribed Goods –
General) Order 2005 Order 2.01 (g). If an importing country requires other export certification for the
consignment, all fees described below apply.
An exporter may apply for an exemption from specified provisions of an export control order. The
assessment of an application for an exemption for plants and plant products is charged at $36 per 15
minutes.
7.3 Fees and levies
Charges apply to the following export commodities:
Grain commodities



prescribed grain (any seed or grain of any of the following kinds: barley, canola, chickpeas,
dried field peas, faba beans, lentils, lupins, mung beans, oats, sorghum, soybeans, whole
vetch and wheat)
hay and straw
nuts, fodder, timber products, cotton and other plants and plant products not listed above
for which a phytosanitary certificate or any other official certificate is required by an
importing country authority.
Horticulture commodities


fresh fruit and vegetables (includes herbs and mushrooms)
nursery stock, tissue cultures, cut flowers, foliage and dried fruit.
7.4 Annual charge for registered establishments
Export registration is initiated by companies or individuals that occupy premises used for the
preparation, handling or storage of prescribed plants and plant products for export. Facilities are
registered with the department to ensure that the premises construction, equipment and processes
are suitable for the preparation of prescribed plants and plant products for export.
An occupier of a registered establishments is liable to pay an annual levy for the registered
establishment. For establishments that are registered for both horticulture exports and grain and
seed exports, the higher of the two levies applies. For establishments applying to be registered for
multi export commodities, such as dairy and plant products, a single application fee of $600 is
charged.
Table 21: Registered establishment levies
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Unit
Application
Levy
$600
Establishment application
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Charge title
Establishment registration—
grower/exporter
Establishment registration—
simple
Establishment registration—
complex
Type
Legislated
rate
Unit
Levy
$600
Establishment registration—grower/exporter
Levy
$3 000
Establishment registration—simple
Levy
$6 000
Establishment registration—complex
If the establishment registration is in force on or before 1 January in the financial year, the full
registration levy is charged. If the establishment registration is in force after 1 January in the financial
year, half of the full registration levy is charged.
Grain Establishments
A person applying to register a new grain establishment will be charged $600 for the application.
There are two categories of establishments that apply to grain exporters which include simple and
complex. Once approved, the occupier of the establishment will be charged an annual levy of $6 000
for a complex facility, which is an establishment that loads large, unpackaged quantities of bulk grain
directly into a vessel hold for export. An annual levy of $3 000 will apply to a simple facility which is
an establishment that exports non-bulk grain and other plant products such as timber.
If an establishment prepares both bulk and non-bulk grain the higher ($6 000) amount applies.
Horticulture Establishments
A person applying to register a new horticulture establishment will be charged $600 for the
application. There are three categories of establishments that apply to horticulture exports, these
include grower-exporter, simple and complex.
An occupier of an establishment will be charged an annual levy of $3 000 for a simple facility, which
is an establishment that exports to non-protocol markets. An annual levy of $6 000 will apply to a
complex facility, which is an establishment that exports to protocol markets. A list of protocol
markets is provided at the following link:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/biosecurity/export/plants-plantproducts/plant-exports-manual/reference-table-horticulture-protocol-markets.pdf
Where an establishment falls into both of these levy categories the levy payable by that
establishment is the higher charge.
Small horticulture growers seeking to register an establishment that will enable them to export their
own product can apply for a reduced establishment levy of $600. To be eligible as a grower-exporter,
there is a maximum tonnage permitted for the facility across all exported products in a financial year
(see Table 22). The grower-exporter is still required to meet all the other requirements for registering
an export establishment.
Table 22: Maximum tonnage for small grower/exporter establishment levy
Commodity
Maximum tonnage
Apples or pears (or both)
400
Citrus
400
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Commodity
Maximum tonnage
Stone fruit (except cherries)
400
Table grapes
400
Mangoes
100
Cherries
30
Berries and/or strawberries
5
Leafy vegetables
10
Vegetables other than leafy vegetables
100
7.5 Tonnage levies
All plant exporters will pay an export volume (tonnage levy) (see Table 23). The rate of the levy is per
tonne or part thereof. The levy is applicable to the exporter applying for an export permit and is
applied against the quantity recorded on the export permit. For forestry products, the tonnage levy is
applied to the green metric tonne (GMT).
The change in levy prices from 2015–16 to 2018–19 reflects the cost modelled predictions.
Table 23: Exports tonnage levy rates
Charge title
Type
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
Export volume—grain and related
products rate
Levy
$0.15
$0.14
$0.11
$0.11
Export volume—non-protocol rate
Levy
$0.95
$0.85
$0.65
$0.65
Export volume—protocol rate
Levy
$1.90
$1.70
$1.30
$1.30
Unit
Per tonne
(part thereof)
Per tonne
(part thereof)
Per tonne
(part thereof)
For commodities that are certified without weights (e.g. Stems, Cubic Metres), the following
conversion table will be used to quantify tonnage.
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Table 24: Conversion table for commodities certified without weights
Unit Symbol
CU
Unit name
Conversion factor
Cubic Metre
0.66
Gram
GRM
JCM
KG
Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS)
Cubic Metre
Kilogram
MT
Metric Tons
NO
Number
SM
Square Metre
SS
Stems
0.000001
0.66
0.001
1
0.00025
0.007
0.00015
7.6 Inspection and audit
Fee for service charges relating to inspection and audit services performed by a departmental officer
are invoiced to the exporter. Inspection and audit activities include:





pre-inspection activities, examining relevant documents in preparation for the inspection or
audit
inspection – physical examination of prescribed goods in registered establishments, sampling
activities and vessel hold inspections, the supervision of treatment and any preparation and
post inspection activities
audit – undertake audit activities or in response to a corrective action after the identification
of non-compliant activity, including preparation and post audit activities
the collection of information required to assess initial applications and physical inspections
for the renewal and registration of an establishment
other inspection or audit services requested by an exporter or as required under legislation
or importing country requirements.
Core inspection fees are charged at $36 per 15 minutes. However, where there is an approved job
function that could be undertaken by an approved authorised officer, but instead a departmental
officer is requested to provide the service, the inspection cost will be $75 per 15 minutes or part
thereof (see transitional arrangements in Attachment 1). Industry authorised officers do not need to
be tied to specific establishments. Third party approved officers may provide inspection services for
any consignment for which they have approved job functions in any establishment registered for that
commodity.
Where there is not an approved job function and an exporter does not have the option of an
approved authorised officer this cost will be $36 per 15 minutes or part thereof (Table 25).
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Table 25: Fee for service
Charge title
Audit
Type
Legislated rate
Fee
$36
Core inspection
Fee
$36
Additional inspection
Fee
$75
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
7.7 Documentation fees
Documentation fees are charged to the exporter for each certificate and document issued by the
department (see Table 26).
Table 26: Document fees
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Phytosanitary certificate*
Levy
$38
Per document
Document-Electronic including
phytosanitary certificates*
Fee
$12
Document-Manual
Fee
$100
Per document
Replacement certificate
Fee
$500
Per document
Per document
*total charge for a phytosanitary certificate is $50
Where an importing country mandates manual documentation only and the exporter is using the
Export Documentation System (EXDOC) the lesser charge (electronic certificates) applies.
Department activities that are included in the documentation fees include assessing inspection
results, treatment certificates, transfer certificates, test results (based on the importing country
requirements). Staff will only authorise a consignment (leading to the printing of certificates) once
documentation is correct.
Electronic certification
Requires little direct intervention; information is received, processed and sent electronically. A
separate fee applies to each export permit, each certificate and each additional document that is
provided. Statements on department’s letterheads; will be charged at the nominated document fee.
Electronic document fees also apply to documents generated by EXDOC but are printed and posted
to the exporter.
Certified copies of Phytosanitary Certificates
If the client wishes, certified copies of phytosanitary certificates can be obtained through a Justice of
the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations, Commissioner for Affidavits or the suitable certifying
official for the State involved. The department may still certify true copies. However, this practice
incurs the appropriate charge.
Other Government documents
The supply of other miscellaneous certificates or documents including radiation statements,
declarations, genetically modified organisms statements, ship’s holds inspection certificates will also
be charged the relevant document fee.
Manual certification
Requires total direct intervention; all information is received, processed and sent manually.
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To reflect the additional cost incurred in the delivery of manual certification, a separate fee applies
to each export permit, each certificate and each additional document that is provided.
Replacement certification
Replacement certification refers to documents that are issued to replace an issued
document and include the replacement endorsement. The circumstances surrounding the
request for replacement certification must be assessed on a case by case basis with
consideration given as to why the original certificate has not been used.
The replacement process is the most resource intensive of all certification services and
therefore replacement certificate fees have been set to more accurately represent the true
cost involved in the verification, traceback and supply of a replacement certificate.
This fee is chargeable per each replacement document issued (i.e. per Phytosanitary
Certificate, Export Permit or other Government document). There is no charge for a
replacement certificate issued due to an error on behalf of the department.
Examples of when a replacement certificate fee would apply include:



part of a consignment being ‘rolled’ into another vessel once certification has been
issued, and the amendments result in a new certificate being issued;
a request for multiple certificates after a single certificate has been issued. Each newly
issued certificate will be a Replacement Certificate and will incur the nominated fee.
changing details in an RFP from one country to another.
A replacement certificate fee does not apply when minor amendments to details are made
on an issued document, including transport details, vessel, voyage, flight, destination city,
consignee, import permit details, place of origin, weight details, treatment details, additional
declaration details.
Example—New small exporter/ grower category
A table grape grower applies to become registered to export table grapes. He anticipates exporting
no more than 400 tonnes of grapes per annum in 5 consignments. He uses an Authorised Officer
employed by a neighbouring farm. The establishment is audited once a year taking around 4 hours.
The grower is charged as follows:
Application levy
$600
Grower-exporter annual registration
$600
Phytosanitary certificate
5 x $50
$250
Export permit
5 x $12
$60
400 x $1.90
$760
16 x $36
$576
Tonnage charge
Audit
Total
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$2 846
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7.8 Authorised Officers
Authorised Officer Applicant Fees
Charges apply to industry or external authorised officers that are able or are seeking to undertake
horticulture and grain functions (see Table 27). An application fee of $250 applies to new authorised
officer applicants. The application fee is required at the time of application and applies irrespective
of the outcome of the application (see transitional arrangements in Attachment 1 for further details).
A ‘Learning and Assessment’ fee of $1 750 applies per package (up to five job functions) for all
applicants approved to undertake training. The fee provides for access to the learning management
system (LMS), facilitated training and competency assessment for the package. Competency
assessments are not undertaken until payment of the fee is received.
An ‘Additional Learning and Assessment’ fee of $2 000 applies per package for applicants assessed as
not yet competent and requiring mandatory additional learning and assessment. The fee applies on
extension of access to the LMS. The fee provides for additional administration (including individual
work plan development), facilitated training and competency-assessment for the package for which
the candidate was assessed as not yet competent.
An ‘Approval’ fee of $250 applies per appointment (approval) to job functions. Where appointments
for the same package occur on separate occasions, a separate ‘Approval’ fee applies on each
occasion.
Audit
Audit fees of $36 per fifteen minutes will apply to audits undertaken to maintain appointment as an
authorised officer.
Annual levy
An annual levy of $750 applies to each appointed Authorised Officer. The annual levy is payable from
the financial year following the appointment of the authorised officer.
Table 27: Authorised officer charges
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
AO – Annual Charge
Levy
$ 750
Annual
AO Application
Fee
$250
Per Application
AO Learning and Assessment
Fee
$1 750
Per Package
AO Additional Learning and
Assessment
Fee
$2 000
Per Package
AO Approval
Fee
$250
Per Appointment
Audit
Fee
$36
Per 15 minutes or part thereof
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8 Food Export Certification
Fees and levies have been specifically developed for the meat, dairy, fish and egg sectors, which
reflect the specific requirements, processes and costs associated with each of these industries.
Separate fees have been developed for the export of non-prescribed goods from Australia, which
recognise the specific activities and costs associated with providing export certification services to
this sector.
Fees and levies for food export certification cover activities that support the issuing of export
documentation – including the registration and auditing of premises and the inspection at load out of
export consignments where applicable.
8.1 Common food export certificate principles
Overtime and shift invoices
In the Meat Exports Programme, services provided on an overtime or shift basis within a calendar
month are compiled and invoiced in arrears on a monthly basis.
In the dairy, fish and egg programmes, services provided on an overtime basis are invoiced as close
as practicable to the date of the service.
Registration levy
A registration application levy ($600) is payable for all new registrations as well as a request to
change the occupier against an existing registration.
An application must be lodged for each establishment seeking export registration. Only one
registration application levy is payable per application i.e. if an establishment is registering for fish,
meat, plant and dairy operations only one registration application levy applies.
Application levies apply for new establishments including changes to the occupier and relocation of
premises. Both changes to the occupier and relocation of premises are defined within legislation as
new establishments. Application levies do not apply for additional operations or changes to persons
in management and control.
Establishment registration levy
A registration levy is payable for each registration period during which an establishment is registered.
Where a registration involves a number of registered operations for the same commodity, only one
annual registration rate is applied. The applicable rate will be the highest rate, for example, where a
meat establishment is registered to store ($840) and process poultry products ($1 250), the poultry
processing rates apply.
A new application for registration will not be processed if there is any outstanding debt on the
establishment/vessel. The department will make all attempts to recover debt from the previous
occupier. However, if this debt is unpaid by the previous occupier, the debt becomes the
responsibility of the new applicant.
Multi-commodity establishments
Where an establishment is registered for more than one prescribed good commodity, levies are
payable against each commodity applicable to the registration. For example, if a storage
establishment is registered for meat, dairy, fish and eggs it will incur four separate registration levies
- one each for meat, dairy, fish and eggs.
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Audit fees for services are applied at the highest audit rate. For example, an audit of an
establishment that is registered for the export of dairy, eggs and horticultural products will be
charged at $50 per 15 minutes, which is the highest applicable audit rate.
Scenario— Fee for service at a multi commodity establishment An audit of an establishment
registered to store fish and dairy takes one hour, the first half is spent on common elements, the
next 15 minutes on requirements specific to fish and the last 15 minutes on requirements specific to
dairy. The audit rate for fish is $50 per 15 minutes and the audit rate for dairy is $33 per 15 minutes.
The establishment is charged as follows:
Audit
4 x $50
Total
$200
$200
8.2 Exemptions
The following items are exempt from export charges:


Goods exported from Australia by an organisation approved by the Secretary that provides
aid or assistance in a foreign country; or
A marine laboratory that is operated or funded by the Commonwealth or a State or Territory
and the primary function is to research and develop export markets, without engaging in
commercial trade.
Charges do not apply in circumstances where activities are exempt from regulation under the Export
Control Act 1982.
An exporter may apply for an exemption from specified provisions of an export control order. The
assessment of an application for an exemption for a food export is charged as follows:



dairy exports — $33 per 15 minutes
fish and egg exports — $ 50 per minutes
meat exports — $30 per 15 minutes.
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9 Meat Export Certification
9.1 Establishment levies
There is an application levy of $600 to register a meat establishment. Once registered a registration
levy is payable for each month that an establishment is registered. Where an establishment registers
mid-month the full levy is applicable regardless of the number of days in which the establishment
was registered.
Meat export cost recovery levies are broadly categorised into two components, establishment levies
(Table 28) and throughput levies.
The Base Registration Levy applies to all establishments registered to produce, prepare, handle or
store meat and meat products for export. The rate of charge is determined by the nature of
operations carried out at the establishment.
The Storage & Transportation Establishment levy applies to the following types of establishments
seeking export registration:

Cold stores, cool stores and dry stores

Freight forwarders

Air container terminals

Air transfer facilities

Container depots and container terminals
Table 28: Establishment levies
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Post
remission
rate
Unit
Registration Application
Levy
$600
$600
Application
Establishment-Abattoir
Levy
$840
$588
Monthly
Establishment-Casings
Levy
$840
$588
Monthly
Establishment-Storage &
Transportation
Levy
$840
$840
Monthly
Establishment-Poultry
Levy
$1 250
$1 250
Monthly
Establishment-Further Processing
Levy
$1 250
$1 250
Monthly
Establishment-Independent Boning
rooms
Levy
$1 250
$875
Monthly
Meat export license*
Levy
$500
$500
Annual
* There is no charge for a meat export licence if you have a registered establishment.
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9.2 Throughput levies
Throughput levies apply to all establishments that slaughter or dress animals for export. Throughput
levies are calculated against the number of animals processed through an establishment in the
previous calendar month. The rate of charge depends on the type of animals processed at the
establishment (see Table 29).
Table 29: Throughput levies
Post
remission
rate
Unit
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Throughput - Full Unit (cow, bull, steer,
heifer, buffalo, camel, donkey, horse)
Levy
$0.70
$0.70
Animal
Throughput - Pig
Levy
$0.24
$0.24
Animal
Throughput - Sheep/Goat/lamb
Levy
$0.18
$0.18
Animal
Throughput - Deer/Game Deer
Levy
$0.14
$0.14
Animal
Throughput - Emu/Ostrich
Levy
$0.10
$0.10
Animal
Throughput - Calf
Levy
$0.07
$0.07
Animal
Throughput - Kangaroo/Wild Boar
Levy
$0.05
$0.05
Animal
Throughput - Rabbit/Possum/Hare
Levy
$0.02
$0.02
Animal
Throughput – full unit
(Tier 1 establishment)
Levy
$0.70
$0.35
Animal
Throughput – Sheep/Goat/Lamb
(Tier 1 establishment)
Levy
$0.18
$0.09
Animal
Throughput – Calf
(Tier 1 establishment)
Levy
$0.07
$0.04
Animal
Throughput – Kangaroo/Wild Boar
(Tier 1 establishment)
Levy
$0.05
$0.03
Animal
9.3 Audit fees
Audits where a veterinarian is required will continue to be charged at a higher rate (see Table 30),
maintaining the differential rate of audit fees to reflect the required audit competency.
Table 30: Audit fees
Charge title
Audit
Veterinary Audit
Type
Legislated rate
Fee
$30
Fee
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$108
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
9.4 Documentation
Increases in the volumes of electronic certificates issued by the department since the last review of
fees provides an opportunity, subject to government approval, to temporarily adjust the fee and
levies for electronic certificates from $49 to $12 through a remittance. This adjustment is forecast to
be sustainable over the forward years, on the basis that costs and export volumes are expected to be
maintained at their existing levels.
Table 31: Documentation charges
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Post
remission
rate
Levy
$46
$9
Unit
Electronic certificate
Document
Fee
$3
$3
Manual certificate
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Replacement certificate
Fee
$500
$500
Document
9.5 Inspection fees
Meat inspection services are generally charged at either the Food Safety Meat Assessor (FSMA) rate,
or the higher On Plant Veterinarian (OPV) rate when veterinary competencies are required.
Inspection fees in the meat export programme can also be agreed on an annual basis where an
establishment operates under an arrangement with the department (see Table 32).
Table 32: Inspection fees
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Post remission rate
Unit
FSMA
Fee
$9 790.75
$9 790.75
Monthly
FSMA - Additional
Fee
$11 843.25
$11 843.25
Monthly
FSMA - Qtr Hr Planned
Fee
$30
$21
FSMA - Qtr Hr
Unplanned
Fee
$30
$30
OPV
Fee
$15 199.50
$15 199.50
OPV - Qtr Hr Planned
Fee
$39
$26
OPV - Qtr Hr
Unplanned
Fee
$39
$39
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Monthly
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
9.6 Services provided by the meat export programme under an
arrangement
An establishment may enter into an arrangement with the department to allocate inspection services
to the establishment on an annual or monthly basis. Services are provided to a maximum of 40 hours
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
per week for FSMA services and veterinary services. Additional fees apply for services provided in
excess of these hours.
Fees for services provided on an annual basis are imposed in respect of a financial year, i.e.
commencing 1 July and concluding 30 June. Services provided on a monthly basis are invoiced in
arrears. The department reserves the right to request payment prior to the provision of service. Four
weeks notice is required to alter arrangements. Where insufficient notice is provided, service will
continue to be charged at the pre-existing rate.
9.7 Meat export quotas
The department recovers its costs for the activities related to the issue of export documentation to
allow low tariff or tariff free entry to quota controlled markets for meat products through the
application of meat certificate fees. Meat quota certificates are charged at the same rate as other
meat export certificates.
While the meat quota cost is recovered by the department’s meat export programme, the
administration of quotas will continue to be undertaken by the quota administration programme.
Table 33: Quota certification fees
Charge title
Type
Meat - Beef Grainfed (EU)
Fee
Prescribed Goods - Japan
Fee
Legislated rate
Post remission
rate
Unit
$100
$100
Document
$49
$12
Document
Quotas for US Beef, high quality EU beef and EU sheepmeat are charged on tonnages allocated until
the necessary legislation can be amended to enable charging on the basis of an export document.
Overtime and shift
At a client’s request, the department may provide services outside normal working hours (see Table
34). The provision of inspection and certification services outside normal working hours requires the
department to pay overtime and shift penalties which are recovered through the imposition of
overtime and shift fees. Where overtime is not continuous with ordinary duty, a minimum charge for
the provision of overtime services is applied.
Shift loading fees are imposed in addition to relevant fee for service rates and are applied when they
are payable to the officer providing the service. Overtime fees are imposed on a quarter hourly basis.
In the meat export programme, minimum overtime charges are payable where the service provided
is not continuous with ordinary duty. Minimum charges are set in accordance with the minimum
loadings payable to officers.

Food Safety Meat Assessor (FSMA) – minimum 4 hour charge.

All other staff – minimum 3 hour charge.
Table 34: Meat exports–overtime and shift rates
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Unit
Food Safety Meat Assessor
Overtime – Time and half
Continuous
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$15.64
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
Charge title
Overtime – Double time
Overtime – Double time and half
Overtime – Time and half – Non–
Continuous (min 4hrs)
Overtime – Double time
Overtime – Double time and half
Shift loading –
Type
Legislated rate
Continuous
$20.86
Continuous
$26.07
Non–Continuous
$250.24
Non–Continuous
$333.76
Non–Continuous
$417.12
Weekday
$1.57
Saturday
$5.22
Sunday
$10.43
Public Holiday
(ordinary)
$15.65
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
(minimum
4hrs)
(minimum
4hrs)
(minimum
4hrs)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
Shift loading –
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
Shift loading –
Shift loading –
Unit
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Veterinary Services
Overtime – Time and half
$24.26
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Overtime – Double time
$32.34
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Overtime – Double time and half
$40.43
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Overtime – Time and half –
$291.12
(minimum
3hrs)
$388.08
(minimum
3hrs)
$485.16
(minimum
3hrs)
$2.43
Per 15 minutes
Non–Continuous
Overtime – Double time –
Non–Continuous
Overtime – Double time and half
–
Non–Continuous
Shift loading – Weekday
(or part thereof)
Shift loading – Saturday
$8.09
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Shift loading – Sunday
$16.17
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Shift loading – Public Holiday
(ordinary)
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
$24.26
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
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10 Dairy Export Certification
The department regulates and provides oversight at various points throughout the export supply
chain. This includes registering establishments that manufacture, store, handle and load milk and
milk products for export. The department also has controls and regulations in place for the issuance
of government export certification.
10.1 Establishment levies
The registration period for dairy export facilities is aligned to the financial year, i.e. 1 July to 30 June
and a registration levy is payable at the beginning of each registration period (see Table 35).
Where a new establishment is registered after 1 January in any financial year, half of the full levy will
apply.
The Storage Establishment – Dairy registration levy applies to the following types of establishments
seeking export registration:





Cold stores, cool stores and dry stores
Freight forwarders
Air container terminals
Air transfer facilities
Container depots and container terminals
Subject to government approval, the prices of levies on registered dairy export establishments are
temporarily adjusted down from 2015–16 to 2018–19.
Table 35: Establishment levies
Charge title
Type
Legislated
rate
Post remission
rate
Unit
Corporation/Co-operative exporting
≥ 2000tns
Levy
$7 729
$6 851
Annual
Corporation/Co-operative exporting
< 2000tns
Levy
$4 275
$3 790
Annual
Storage establishment - Dairy
Levy
$1 820
$1 614
Annual
Organic Certifying Organisation
Levy
$7 500
$7 500
Annual
Registration application
Levy
$600
$600
Application
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10.2 Inspection and audit fees
Inspection and audit activities are charged per 15 minutes, or part thereof (see Table 36). The
general provisions set out at the beginning of these guidelines apply when determining matters such
as start and finish times, chargeable time and other matters.
Table 36: Inspection and audit fees
Charge type
Type
Legislated rate
Audit
Fee
$33
Inspection
Fee
$33
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
10.3 Documentation charges
Dairy exporters are primarily users of three different types of documents – export permits, export
health certificates and dairy quota certificates (see Tables 37 and 38). Electronic documents attract a
lower levy component due to remissions that apply over the next four years.
Table 37: Documentation levies and fees
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Cost recovery levies -Documentation
Type
Document - Electronic
Levy
Cost recovery fees—Documentation
Type
Electronic Certificate
Fee
$6
$6
Document
Manual Certificate
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Replacement Certificate
Fee
$500
$500
Document
$15
$11
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Unit
Document
Unit
10.4 Dairy quota
The department recovers its costs for the activities related to the issue of export documentation to
allow low tariff or tariff free entry to quota controlled markets for dairy products through the
application of dairy certificate fees. Dairy quota certificates are charged at the same rate as other
dairy export certificates.
For example, $21 (adjusted to $17) for each electronic certificate and $100 per manual certificate.
The department will not issue any quota certificates while any invoices remain outstanding.
While the dairy quota cost is recovered by the department’s export dairy programme, the
administration of quotas will continue to be undertaken by the quota administration programme.
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Table 38: Quota certification fees
Charge title
Type
Legislated rate
Post remission
rate
Unit
Dairy - FTA (US)
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Dairy - WTO (US)
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Dairy - WTO (EU)
Fee
$100
$100
Document
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11 Fish and Egg Export Certification
The fish and egg export programme undertakes activities associated with inspection, audit and
certification activities for fish and fish products as well as egg and egg products exported for human
consumption.
11.1 Establishment levies
The registration period for fish export facilities is aligned to the financial year i.e. 1 July to 30 June
and a registration levy is payable at the beginning of each new registration period (see Table 39).
Where a new establishment is registered after 1 January in any financial year, half of the full levy will
apply.
The Storage Establishment – Fish registration levy applies to the following types of establishments
seeking export registration:





Cold stores, cool stores and dry stores
Freight forwarders
Air container terminals
Air transfer facilities
Container depots and container terminals
Subject to government approval, the prices of charges on registered fish and egg export
establishments are temporarily adjusted down from 2015–16 to 2018–19.
Table 39: Establishment levies
Cost recovery levies -establishment
Type
Legislated
rate
Post remission
rate
Unit
Storage establishment
Levy
$1 835
$1 484
Annual
Vessel (Preparation Not Direct Export)
Levy
$1 223
$989
Annual
Vessel (Preparation Direct Export)
Levy
$2 446
$1 978
Annual
Land establishment - Live Only
Levy
$1 223
$989
Annual
Land establishment - Processing
Levy
$2 446
$1 978
Annual
Egg establishment
Levy
$1 835
$1 484
Annual
Registration application
Levy
$600
$600
Application
11.2 Inspection and audit fees
Inspection and audit activities are charged per 15 minutes (or part thereof) (see Table 40). The
general provisions set out at the beginning of these guidelines apply when determining matters such
as start and finish times, chargeable time and other matters.
Export fish and egg volumes and associated inspection, audit and certification activities are forecast
to remain steady over the next four years and as a result, there is no change in the prices for
inspection or audit fees.
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Table 40: Audit and inspection fees
Cost recovery fees—Audit
Type
Legislated rate
Audit
Fee
$50
Cost recovery fees—Inspection
Type
Legislative rate
Inspection
Fee
$50
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
11.3 Documentation charges
Increases in the volumes of electronic certificates issued by the department since the last review of
fees and levies, subject to government approval, provides an opportunity to temporarily adjust the
levy for electronic certificates as set out below.
Table 41: Documentation charges
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Cost recovery levies -Documentation
Type
Electronic Permit
Levy
$27
$21
Document
Electronic Health Certificate
Levy
$27
$21
Document
Cost recovery fees—Documentation
Type
Electronic permit
Fee
$6
$6
Document
Manual permit
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Electronic health certificate
Fee
$6
$6
Document
Manual health certificate
Fee
$100
$100
Document
Replacement certificate
Fee
$500
$500
Document
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Unit
Unit
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
12 Non Prescribed Goods
The Australian Government issues certification for non-prescribed goods which are specific goods
that are derived from animals and plants e.g. various products that fall into categories such as animal
by-products, wool, skins and hides, inedible blood, rendered animal proteins, prepared dry pet food,
alcoholic beverages, processed foods, gelatine and collagen and some animal feed ingredients and
additives.
Legislative basis
The Export Control Act 1982, the Export Control (Prescribed Goods—General) Order 2005 provide the
legal framework for both Prescribed and Non-Prescribed Goods.
Exporters must meet both the requirements of the Act and its subordinate legislation and any
importing country quarantine requirements to enable us to provide the necessary documentation for
commodities to be exported.
The Act specifies that goods are ‘prescribed’ or ‘non-prescribed’.
12.1 Audit and inspection fees for NPG and organics
Non-prescribed and organic goods export volumes and associated audit, inspection and certification
activities are forecast to remain steady over the next four years. As a result, there is no change in the
15 minute fee that applies to audit and inspection activities (see Table 42). Inspection fees ($40 per
15 minutes or part thereof) applies where, after receiving the application, the department
determines that an inspection must be carried out prior to issuing the certification.
Table 42: Audit and inspection fees
Cost recovery fees — Audit
Type
Legislated Rate
Audit
Fee
$40
Inspection
Fee
$40
Unit
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
Per 15 minutes
(or part thereof)
12.2 Documentation charges for NPG
Export certificates issued for non-prescribed goods include a levy component and a fee component.
Different fees apply to electronic and manual certificates.
Table 43: Documentation charges
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Charge type
Type
General Export Certificate - Electronic
Levy
$40
$30
Document
Certificate issued under an approved
arrangement
Levy
$97
$67
Document
Cost recovery fees—Documentation
Type
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Unit
Unit
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Charging Guidelines 2015–16 v1.2
Legislated Post remission
rate
rate
Charge type
Type
Unit
General Export Certificate – Electronic
Fee
$15
$6
Document
Export Certificate Issued Under Approved
Arrangement – Electronic
Fee
$15
$6
Document
General Export Certificate – Manual
Fee
$36
$17
Document
Export Certificate Issued Under Approved
Arrangement - Manual
Fee
$36
$17
Document
Replacement certificate
Fee
$500
$500
Document
12.3 NPG quota
The department recovers its costs for the activities related to the issue of export documentation to
allow low tariff or tariff free entry to quota controlled markets for non-prescribed goods through the
application of certificate fee. Quota certificates are charged as a manual NPG certificate.
12.4 Version history
The following table details the published date and amendment details for this document.
Table 44: Version history of charging guidelines 2015–16
Version
Date
1.0
26/11/2015
Charging guideline 2015–16 for departmental
staff, industry and public information
1.1
30/11/2015
Minor amendments to sections 3.4: Collection
arrangements, 4.2: Travellers and 7.2: Plant
exports documentation fees
1.2
20/01/2016
Addition of table grapes to Table 22
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Attachment 1 — Transitional arrangements 2015-16
Biosecurity
The guidance set out below provides assistance in helping clients to implement the new charges
payable from 1 December 2015 in the Biosecurity and Imported Food areas.
Approved Arrangements – Quarantine Approved Premises (QAP)
If you are approved for a QAP, or for renewal of a QAP, between 1 December 2015 and 30 June 2016,
a $1 450 levy applies to cover the financial year ending on 30 June 2016. The new levy of $2 900 will
apply to all approvals or renewals for each financial year after 1 July 2016.
If the client has paid the annual QAP fee at the old rate of $1 200 to cover the financial year ending
on 30 June 2016, the new annual approved arrangement levy will not apply until the financial year
beginning 1 July 2016.
Approved Arrangements – Compliance Agreements
If a compliance under section 66B of the Quarantine Act 1908 is in force on 1 December 2015, or is
entered into between 1 December 2015 and 1 January 2016, a levy of $1 450 will apply applies to
cover the financial year ending on 30 June 2016. The new levy of $2 900 will apply to all compliance
agreement holders each financial year after 1 July 2016.
Approved Arrangements – Food Import Compliance Agreement (FICA)
If you are approved for a FICA, or for renewal of a FICA, between 1 December 2015 and 30 June
2016, a $1 450 levy applies to cover the financial year ending on 30 June 2016. The new approved
arrangement levy of $2 900 applies to all FICA holders for each financial year after 1 July 2016.
If the client has paid the annual agreement fee at the old rate of $2 300 to cover the financial year
ending on 30 June 2016, the new annual approved arrangement levy will not apply until the financial
year beginning 1 July 2016.
Post Entry Quarantine
Animals already in PEQ on 1 December 2015
For any animal, or consignment of birds or eggs already in the PEQ facility on 1 December 2015, the
previous fees will apply for the remainder of the stay of the animal or consignment of birds or eggs.
Animals entering the PEQ on or after 1 December 2015
The department will honour a payment made for a horse, dog or cat if an importer has already paid
in full for the scheduled stay in quarantine. The new daily rate will apply if the animal stays for
additional time.
Any booking fee or deposit paid in relation to a consignment of eggs or birds or booking fees paid in
relation to a ruminant or camelid will be taken as a payment in relation to the charges that apply
from 1 December 2015.
Plants
The monthly plant charge will apply from 1 December 2015 to plants held in PEQ on or after that
date.
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Plant exports
Inspection and audit fees
Where there is an approved job function that could be undertaken by an approved authorised officer
but instead a departmental officer is requested, the inspection charge will be $75 per 15 minutes.
This will commence for:

protocol job functions from 1 July 2016

all other job functions from 1 March 2016.
Plant export authorised officers
Application levy
An application fee of $250 applies to new authorised officer applicants from 1 December 2015. The
application fee is required at the time of application and applies irrespective of the outcome of the
application. If an existing authorised officer applies to be assessed in additional job function
competencies, the application levy will not be applied.
Learning and assessment fees
All new authorised officer applicants are supplied with a learning package. A learning and assessment
fee of $1 750 will apply per learning package. A learning package can include up to five job functions.
Competency assessments will not be undertaken until payment of the fee is received. Further
information on this package can be found on the department’s website.
If at any time an existing authorised officer applies to be assessed in additional job functions (that
were not included in their original application), the ‘Learning and Assessment’ fee of $1 750 will
apply per learning package.
Authorised officer applicants that commenced a learning and assessment package prior to 1
December 2015 will not be charged for that package.
If an applicant fails a competency assessment and would like to be reassessed, an additional learning
and assessment fee of $2 000 will apply and needs to be paid prior to being reassessed.
Approval fee
From 1 December, a fee of $250 will apply per appointment (approval) to job functions that an
applicant has successfully completed. Where appointments for job functions within the same
learning package occur on separate occasions, a separate approval fee applies on each occasion a
successful competency assessment is completed.
Annual levy for authorised officers
An annual levy of $750 will apply to all appointed Authorised Officers (no matter how many job
functions they hold). Existing authorised officers will pay this levy from 1 July 2016.
Live Animal Exports
Notice of intention to export for live animals and reproductive material that are received prior to 1
December 2015 and where inspection activities is either underway or yet to commence will be
charged at the previous rates for these activities.
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Export certificates
Applications for export certificates made prior to 1 December will be charged at the previous rates.
Meat export arrangements
The allocation of departmental officers in a meat export arrangement will continue as established by
the arrangement while it remains in force, however the new rate will apply for service provided from
1 December 2015.
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