The Western Australian Quarantine and Inspection

Service (WAQIS) has the power to detain and inspect

any goods entering the state to prevent the introduction

of weeds, pests and diseases not present in WA.

Freight entering Western Australia is cleared through a

combination of documentation and inspection. Risk items

require a quarantine inspection before the goods can be

Anyone consigning freight to Western Australia should

provide their transport company with a description of the

goods to be transported. This information makes it

possible for the transport company to tell WAQIS what

they are carrying. Where transport company documents

satisfy WAQIS that a consignment does not pose a

quarantine risk, the goods will not be detained for

This prevents unnecessary delays to items not requiring

inspection, and assists in planning necessary inspections

When an accurate description of goods entering Western

Australia is not available from transport documents,

WAQIS cannot be satisfied that there is no quarantine

risk associated with the goods, and they will be detained

Inorganic items can pose a quarantine risk if they are

packed or contaminated with Quarantine Risk Materials.

For example, fragile items may be packed in straw, and

machinery may contain seed, soil and plant material if

The ornaments imported in crates are not a quarantine

risk, but the straw packing material could accidentally

introduce weed seeds and a number of plant diseases.

Western Australia is free from many animal and plant pests diseases and weeds found in other parts of Australia. To prevent these unwanted organisms becoming established in the state, propagatable plants and plant material must be recognised as permitted on the Permitted and Quarantine Species list to be allowed entry.

Quarantine Risk Materials

Import requirements are placed on items recognised as 'Quarantine Risk Materials' or 'QRM'. Under the Plant Diseases Act 1914 and Plant Diseases Regulations 1989,"QRM' are items that have the potential to carry exotic weeds, pests and diseases in to Western Australia. In the Regulations, they are also known as 'potential carriers'.

The following items are commonly recognised as quarantine risk materials and must be declared to WAQIS for inspection immediately upon entry into the state.

Restrictions apply to any plants or parts of plants brought into Western Australia. Only permitted species of plants or parts of plants can be imported, and these must satisfy applicable treatment and certification requirements.

Failure to satisfy legislated requirements may result in penalties to $5000.

Western Australian import requirements manual

The WA Import Requirements Manual enables users to identify the import conditions applicable to a specific commodity. The search can be refined by specifying the format and state of origin of the goods, as these generally affect the applicable requirements.

The Import Requirements listed in the Manual are legislated requirements. Goods that fail to satisfy these requirements will be detained upon inspection whilst WAQIS and appropriate stakeholders determine what measures will be taken to ensure they present no quarantine risk to Western Australia.

User guidelines - Please read before commencing

The WA Import Requirements Manual is a database that can be searched via our web page.

• Begin using the manual by activating the word 'search'. You will get a pop-up reminder that you should check whether any plant species to be imported is shown as permitted on the 'Permitted and Quarantine Species' list (Schedule 5 of the Plant Diseases Regulations 1989). Click 'OK' or press the enter key to move beyond the reminder.
• Enter the name of the commodity in the appropriate field. Results will be returned on common name (where known), or botanical name (search can be on family, genus or species).
• You can refine your search by selecting the format of the commodity, and the state of origin, from the drop down menus. 'Not applicable' is the format to be used for items like machinery etc.
• Your search will return a statement to the effect of "X number of search results found". To see these search results, you may need to scroll down the screen.
• To see the requirements applicable to the item you searched for, click on the item listing (blue text at left). This will give you a list of requirements by number and title.
• To read the text of an individual requirement, click on the number (blue).
• To close an individual requirement and return to the list applicable to your search item, you will need to close the html page you are in by clicking on the 'X' at top right of the page.
• To commence a new search, simply hit the 'reset' button beside the search field, and enter your new query.

Access the WA Import Requirements Manual.

Importing animals, plants and seeds into Western Australia

Applicable import requirements and processes may be found by consulting the electronic Western Australian Import Requirements Manual.

Animals

WAQIS assists in the clearance of animals arriving from other states and territories.

Animals regarded as stock (i.e. horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats etc) are subject to requirements specified under the Stock Diseases (Regulations) Act 1968. These are specifically monitored by the Animal Biosecurity branch of the Department of Agriculture and Food, and WAQIS refers consignments of stock for inspection when they enter the state through road checkpoints.

Other animals, including some pets, are subject to restrictions under the Agriculture and Related Resources Protections Act 1976 and the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. WAQIS refers animals other than stock to the Department of Environment and Conservation for formal identification and processing of permits where applicable.

Further information is available on

• Vertebrate animal pests
• FAQ on animal inspections [April 2005] (401kb PDF).
• Quarantine WA : interstate travellers' guide [124 KB PDF file]

Plants and seeds

Plants, propagatable plant parts and consignments of seed may be introduced into Western Australia provided that:

• plant species, and all species of seeds in the consignment are listed in Schedule 5 of the Plant Diseases Regulations 1989 (this may be checked by confirming the species is listed as 'OK' on the Permitted and Quarantine Species list ), and
• they satisfy legislated import requirements, which include inspection by WAQIS.

Seed import requirements are also summarized in - 'Western Australia's Seed Import Requirements' (114KB pdf)

The weed status of a species, and its inclusion in Schedule 5 of the Plant Diseases Regulations 1989, is determined following formal assessment by the Department of Agriculture and Food's Weed Science branch. The assessment process for the proposed introduction of plant species to Western Australia, and the Species assessment request (71KB pdf) is available for downloading.