Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
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The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is the Australian government agency responsible for enforcing Australian quarantine laws. AQIS is part of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry.
Quarantine in Australia
AQIS’s import and export inspection and certification is essential to maintaining Australia’s highly favourable animal, plant and human health status and access to export markets. Quarantine controls at Australia’s borders minimise the risk of exotic pests and diseases to protect Australia’s agriculture industries and environment.Role of AQIS
AQIS is the agency responsible for border control, of both passenger and cargo. AQIS officers use X-ray machines and sniffer dogs in airports to search for banned materials. AQIS also administers animal, plant, human quarantineAlong with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) AQIS administers the Imported Food Program, which ensures that food commercially imported into Australia meets Australia’s Quarantine Standards and parts of the Food Standards Code.
AQIS also provides inspection and certification for a range of agricultural products exported from Australia, to ensure compliance with overseas countries importation requirements.
Biosecurity Australia
AQIS implements Quarantine standards, it no longer sets them. Quarantine rules (i.e. what is allowed in) are now set by Biosecurity Australia, an independent authority which is organisationally still part of the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. Some of the rules set by Biosecurity Australia on the importation of overseas foods have been controversial and argued to risk Australia’s health status.
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