Improvements to biofouling management for vessels
Following 18 months of feedback from industry about the biofouling requirements on commercial vessels arriving to Australia, the department has listened and taken steps to improve how we manage biofouling on commercial international vessels.
There are no changes to how commercial vessel operators provide information about the management of biofouling.
We have updated the Australian biofouling management requirements to provide clearer guidance to vessel operators and streamline inspection processes for compliant vessels. Our inspectors will also gather additional information from non-compliant vessels to help assess the biosecurity risks presented.
Other changes include, from 1 December 2023, non-commercial vessels arriving in Australia should submit a non-commercial vessel pre-arrival report (NCV PAR). In the NCV PAR, questions relating to biofouling management practices on the vessel must be answered.
By submitting these NCV PAR responses vessel operators are assisting the department in managing biosecurity risks associated with biofouling on non-commercial vessels and will help inform our policies in the coming 12 months.
For more information on your biofouling reporting obligations, please see our website.