On 4 May 2021, the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management announced a biosecurity package set to strengthen Australia’s ability to keep out hitchhiker pests.
In line with Government requirements, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment prepared a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) to analyse policy options to combat a growing threat to Australian biosecurity posed by hitchhiker pests. The preferred option is an integrated regulation and supply chain solution, which would entail a number of pre-border, border and post-border measures focusing on increasing the risk management of hitchhiker pests offshore.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the RIS as adequate.
The RIS does not estimate the average annual regulatory costs.