11 August 2026
Who does this notice affect?
Importers and brokers of CBIS eligible:
- Fresh whole garlic for human consumption (offshore treated) from all countries (0703.20.00.42)
- Fresh/chilled ready-to-eat pomegranate arils from India (0810.90.00.59)
- Bulgur wheat (parboiled, bagged and retail ready) from all countries (1904.30.00.50).
What has changed?
The department is incorporating three new plant pathways onto the Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS). The pathways and intervention points are as follows:
- Fresh whole garlic – Inspection intervention
- Ready-to-eat pomegranate arils – Inspection intervention
- Bulgur wheat – Inspection intervention.
These changes are scheduled to take effect on 26 August 2026.
The CBIS program rewards importers who demonstrate consistent compliance with Australia's biosecurity requirements with a risk-based intervention approach (applied at the line level). Compliant entities (importers/ suppliers) are able to benefit from smoother clearance processes at the border and reduced regulatory costs.
To qualify for risk-based intervention under the CBIS, importers will need to:
- import an eligible product under an appropriate tariff code
- lodge the entry in line mode
- meet the import conditions for their goods
- meet the requirement for repeated compliance
To support these changes, we have developed some new profile questions for fresh whole garlic, pomegranate arils and bulgar wheat as follows:
Fresh whole garlic
Biosecurity question text: BIOSECURITY: ARE THE GOODS FRESH WHOLE GARLIC BULBS IMPORTED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION AND TREATED WITH METHYL BROMIDE PRIOR TO SHIPMENT?
Fresh/chilled, ready-to-eat pomegranate arils
Biosecurity question text: ARE THE GOODS READY-TO-EAT POMEGRANATE ARILS THAT ARE FRESH OR CHILLED, IMPORTED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION END USE?
Bulgur wheat
Biosecurity question text: BIOSECURITY: ARE THE GOODS RETAIL READY, BULGAR WHEAT PRODUCTS, IMPORTED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION END USE?
What do I need to do?
The change will require importers and brokers to accurately answer one or more profile questions, provide a relevant tariff code, and lodge complete and accurate documents in COLS in order to qualify for CBIS and be offered the benefits that the program has to offer.
Lodging incomplete documents may result in the importer receiving a document failure, which will impact the CBIS compliance counter. It may also result in clearance delays and additional fees where the department is required to re-assess information or gather further information to complete a risk assessment. We would strongly encourage you to submit a complete document package, clearly describe your goods and clearly label your products for this reason.
Note: Goods that qualify for CBIS may still be required to meet other biosecurity and imported food requirements. All imported food must meet the food safety requirements under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 monitored through the Imported Food Inspection Scheme. Check the imported food requirements for your food type.
Further information
Subscribe to the relevant BICON case or visit the CBIS webpage.
If you have any enquiries relating to these changes, please contact the CBIS program CBIS@aff.gov.au or telephone 1800 900 090.
The department also announces changes on the CBIS webpage.