13 October 2026
Who does this notice affect?
All clients required to use the department's Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON).
Approved arrangements operators, customs brokers, importers, manned depots, and freight forwarders who are required to book and manage requests for inspections through the Biosecurity Portal.
Approved arrangements operators who will be required to view electronic government certificates (eCertificates) and relevant attachments online via external verification for eCertificates (EVE), as part of document assessment for imported goods.
All shipping agents or operators of maritime conveyances who will be required to report pre-arrival information.
All clients submitting the below declarations:
- Full Import Declaration (FID)
- Long Form Self Assessed Clearance (LFSAC)
- Short Form Self Assessed Clearance (SFSAC)
- Cargo Report Self Assessed Clearance (CRSAC)
- Cargo Report Personal Effects (PE)
- Master Consolidator Declaration Forms
All importers and customs brokers who will be required to lodge imported cargo documentation to the department for biosecurity assessment.
All clients who will be required to make an online payment.
All importers of plants, cats and/or dogs who will be required to use the Post Entry Biosecurity System (PEBS).
Information
Due to urgent scheduled infrastructure maintenance, there will be a scheduled outage to following services and systems. Users of these systems will experience two (2) separate outages, up to 5 minutes each in duration between 22:00 Tuesday 13 October to 04:00 Wednesday 14 October 2026 (AEDT):
- BICON
- Biosecurity Portal
- EVE
- Maritime and Aircraft Reporting System (MARS)
- Cargo Online Lodgement System (COLS)
- Cargo Online Lodgement System Business to Government (COLSB2G)
- Online Payment Service (OPS)
- PEBS
Action
BICON users are advised to complete and submit any in-progress import permit applications prior to the commencement of this planned maintenance period.
Clients anticipating responses from the department in relation to the above-listed declaration types may also experience some delays in receiving these responses during the maintenance period.
All users of the above listed systems are advised to await the completion of this planned maintenance period before attempting to access these services.
The department apologises for any inconvenience caused.