The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) risk season came to an end a few weeks ago, and the Australian Department of Agriculture has announced amendments to the compliance requirements for treatment providers for the next season – expected to commence on 01 September 2021.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), has this week issued Industry Advice Notice (IAN) no. 128-2021 titled: 2021-22 Offshore Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) treatment providers scheme and application form.
The IAN is addressed to: Stakeholders in the import and shipping industries—including vessel masters, freight forwarders, treatment providers, importers, customs brokers, principal agents and master consolidators.
DAWE, together with the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, has made minor amendments to the Offshore BMSB Treatment Providers Scheme. The scheme sets out the minimum registration and compliance requirements for treatment providers conducting BMSB treatments offshore.
Applications to join the scheme are now open for new and renewing treatment providers.
– All BMSB treatment providers in target risk countries must be approved under the scheme to conduct BMSB treatments on goods bound for Australia and/or New Zealand.
– Treatment providers that were registered under the scheme during the 2020-21 BMSB risk season must complete an application form for the 2021-22 BMSB Risk Season. A pre-populated application form will be emailed to all treatment providers registered in the 2021-22 BMSB Risk Season.
Australian importers are advised to discuss treatment options with their suppliers at port of loading. An updated list of approved offshore BMSB treatment providers will be established for the 2021-22 BMSB season and will be made available by DAWE on the Offshore BMSB Treatment Providers Scheme webpage – for more information and assistance, we invite you to contact us here at Colless Young.
DAWE reminds importers that it is their responsibility to continue to ensure that any goods imported are free of biosecurity risk material throughout the year, not just during periods of heightened seasonal measures. The stink bug pest can arrive in Australia on cargo and shipping containers shipped between September and April each year. This coincides with autumn and winter in the Northern Hemisphere
BMSB is not found in Australia and needs to be kept out. It could severely impact our agricultural industries. Juveniles and adults feed on, and can severely damage, fruit and vegetable crops, rendering them unsellable or reducing production yields. Stink bugs can also be a nuisance, entering vehicles, homes and factories for shelter over winter.
As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, Colless Young handles all your cargo shipping and transport needs. We are based in Brisbane and offer a complete range of logistics services, for both air and sea freight, import and export, including quarantine treatments such as fumigation, as well as warehousing and trucking – through all Australian ports.
