Overseas visitors and in Australia

Good travel hygiene is essential for all visitors coming from overseas or travelling between different regions within Australia.

You may be attending a conference, an agricultural event, be part of a delegation of industry members, conducting field research or a visiting researcher. If your itinerary includes visiting rural properties or wilderness areas, there is a risk that a new , pest or weed could enter Australia or be moved between regions as a result of your travels.

What do you risk by not considering biosecurity? • introducing a new pest, disease or weed to an area with associated control and management issues and ecological ramifications • negative feedback for your organisation • reluctance of farmers and others to host future visits • failure to take on your responsibility and ‘duty of care’. Biosecurity tips for overseas researchers Entering Australia Before you come to Australia: pests, and weed seeds can potentially enter new areas on footwear and clothing. Travellers • Ask the organisers of your trip or local are known to have inadvertently carried fungal spores researchers if there are any specific into the country on their clothes, and weed seeds can biosecurity requirements for the area(s) you easily be carried in soil on boots and clothes. Some are visiting. pests can also hitch hike on vehicles, equipment or in • Wash and scrub your footwear and personal baggage. equipment with soap and water, and then treat with a disinfectant. Domestic and travelling • Wash all the clothes you plan to wear between regions in Australia before you come to Australia, including hats There are some pests, diseases and weeds that and caps. are confined to particular regions in Australia. As you enter Australia: These include herbicide resistant weeds, fungicide resistant pathogens and insecticide resistant pests, • Declare if you have visited a farm or the presence of which may not be evident on visual wilderness area. inspection. • Declare any items listed on the incoming passenger card. Please make sure all clothing, equipment and baggage is clean of soil and plant material before moving between different states or territories in Australia.

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