7 December 2023
Who does this notice affect?
All internal and external stakeholders who may require Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regulatory services during the department's shut down period.
What has changed?
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Canberra Office will cease operations from close of business on Friday 22 December 2023 and will re-open at the commencement of business on Tuesday 2 January 2024.
Further information
The Canberra switchboard will cease operations from close of business Friday 22 December 2023 until the commencement of business on Tuesday 2 January 2024.
Switchboards for locations outside of Canberra will be operating on reduced hours during this period.
The Department's general inquiry line (1800 900 090) will not operate during the periods noted as 'Closed' in the table below.
Online portals and lodgement systems will be available for use over this period. However, activities will only be conducted by departmental staff during hours of operation specified below. All departmental functions will resume at the commencement of business on Tuesday 2 January 2024.
The forms for requesting overtime for import document assessment and treatment result assessment are available here.
Regional offices are operating as per the table below.
| Date | Office Status | Comments |
|---|
Friday 22/12/2023 | Open | Normal regulatory activities available. |
Saturday 23/12/2023 Sunday 24/12/2023 Monday 25/12/2023 Tuesday 26/12/2023 | Closed | Limited regulatory activities available. Import and export inspection appointments for these days must be requested prior to close of business on 18 December 2023. Note: Overtime requests for import document assessment and treatment result assessment must be submitted prior to 11am on 22 December 2023. Acceptance will remain subject to officer availability. Public Holiday/Weekend – Fee bearing regulatory functions conducted on these days will be subject to overtime charges. |
Wednesday 27/12/2023 Thursday 28/12/2023 Friday 29/12/2023 | Open | Limited regulatory activities available. Import and export inspection appointments for these days must be requested prior to close of business on 18 December 2023. Note: Overtime requests for import document assessment and treatment result assessment must be submitted prior to 11am on the business day that falls before you require the document(s) to be assessed. Acceptance will remain subject to officer availability. |
Saturday 30/12/2023 Sunday 31/12/2023 Monday 01/01/2024 | Closed | Limited regulatory activities available. Import and export inspection appointments for these days must be requested prior to close of business on 18 December 2023. Note: Overtime requests for import document assessments and treatment result assessments must be submitted prior to 11am on 29 December 2023. Acceptance will remain subject to officer availability. Public Holiday/Weekend – Fee bearing regulatory functions conducted on these days will be subject to overtime charges. |
Tuesday 02/01/2024 | Open | Normal regulatory activities available. |
Self-Assessed Clearance assessment activities will operate as normal over the shutdown period.
Assessment Services Exports
- Assessment Services Exports will be closed on the following days:
- Monday, 25 December and Tuesday, 26 December 2023
- Monday, 1 January 2024.
- Assessment Services Exports will be open on the following days:
- Wednesday, 27 December 2023 through until Friday, 29 December 2023.
- Our regular client service standards apply during this period, it is your obligation to submit correctly completed documents, allowing Assessment Services Exports:
- 1 business days to process your air freight lodgement.
- 3 business days to process your sea freight lodgement.
- Clients requiring Request for Permit (RFP) authorisations and/or certificate collections on the days where our offices are closed will be required to submit an overtime request to;
- For Plant Exports - Assessment Services Exports – Plant (NDH).
- For Food Exports - Assessment Services Exports – Food
- Clients submitting overtime requests are required to use the following email subject header:
- Client Query – OT Application; [insert day, date, time] Client: [insert client name]
- Overtime request emails for service on 23, 24, 25 and 26 December 2023 (where our offices are closed), must be sent by 2pm (AEDT) on Thursday, 21 December 2023.
- Overtime request emails for service on 1 January 2024 (where our offices are closed), must be sent by 2pm (AEDT) on Thursday, 28 December 2023.
If you have any questions regarding the above information, please email Assessment Services Exports – Plant (NDH) or Food Exports - Assessment Services Exports – Food
Please refer to any other advice issued via the department's website to specific services.
Unless otherwise specified, contact details for the department and regional offices can be found at: Contact us
Overtime fees (when applicable) will be charged in accordance with the department's charging guidelines, which can be found on the department's website.
Please call the department's general inquiry line 1800 900 090 if further information is required. If you identify something of concern that may have entered Australia with imported goods report it to See Secure Report on 1800 798 636 or complete the online form. For urgent inquiries, please contact 1800 798 636.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry staff would like to take this opportunity to wish all our stakeholders the very best for the coming holiday period.
We thank you for your cooperation throughout this year and look forward to continuing to work together to protect Australia's strong biosecurity status in 2024.