Differences in Biosecurity legislation between Australian States and Territories

As the only country in the world to cover an entire continent, Australia possesses an extensive history of strict biosecurity measures. Australia’s unique biosecurity laws cover a range of regulatory controls, implementation measures, management processes and systems to protect Australian agricultural environmental and public health security, especially the risks of introducing or spreading pests and diseases. Australia has separate Federal and State biosecurity laws under different regulatory frameworks. Although many people (especially travellers to Australia) are familiar with Australia's strict Federal food import controls and product quarantine and declaration requirements, many people are less familiar with the additional layer of State biosecurity measures, and the nature of differences amongst them. This article considers some of these issues.