21 December 2023
Who does this notice affect?
All vessel owners, operators, masters and shipping agents who represent international commercial vessels including cruise vessels in, or arriving in, Australian territory.
What has changed?
Minor changes have been made to the existing framework for pre-arrival reporting required under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Act) and the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (the Regulation).
Under the section 193 of the Act, all vessel operators are required to provide a pre-arrival report (PAR) when intending to arrive in Australian territory. The information that must be included in the PAR is prescribed in the Regulation. Changes to the Regulation have been made as follows:
- Vessels, other than certain vessels travelling from certain areas in the Torres Strait, must provide details of any medication or treatment provided by the officers and crew of the vessel to any person on board the vessel in respect of a disease.
- Updated information must be provided if the information, including human health information, in the previous report is no longer current. This change clarifies the requirement that, for the purposes of subsection 194(1A) of the Act, operators must provide further information if they become aware that information in a previous PAR was incomplete or incorrect. The updated report will be submitted through the Maritime and Aircraft Reporting System (MARS) or by contacting the National Maritime Centre (NMC). The operator must provide the updated information as soon as practicable, and before mooring.
The revised legislation came into effect on 12 December 2023. Further advice will be provided when the changes are fully operationalised.