Quarantine approved cold storage (biosecurity AA)
8 facilities belong to operators that state a quarantine approval.
Quarantine approved cold storage is a chilled or frozen store that can hold imported goods still under biosecurity control. Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry approves such sites through approved arrangements, which replaced quarantine approved premises. An approval belongs to a specific site, so check its arrangement number and class with the operator for the store you plan to use; this page lists the facilities of operators that state an approval.
How to check and choose a quarantine approved cold store
- Ask for the number: the operator should give you the approved arrangement number and class for the site that will hold your goods.
- Look it up: check it in the department’s approved arrangement search tool (external site), which lists only the participants that agree to publication.
- Check the scope: confirm the arrangement covers cold storage of your commodity and note any conditions it sets.
- Match the temperature: the range your product needs while it waits for inspection or release.
- Plan the release: ask how the operator works with biosecurity officers and your customs broker, and how close the store is to the port or airport where your goods land.
Old and new terms
People still search for the names used before 2016; these are today’s equivalents.
- The Quarantine Act 1908 is now the Biosecurity Act 2015: the new Act took effect on 16 June 2016 and replaced the old one.
- Quarantine approved premises are now approved arrangements: the department describes approved arrangements as the successor to quarantine approved premises and compliance agreements.
- AQIS is now the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service’s functions moved into the department in 2012.
Official sources
The department is the authority on every approved arrangement; these are its own pages.
- Approved arrangements (external site): what they are and how the department grants them.
- Approved arrangement requirements and classes (external site): the conditions for each class, class 1.1 among them.
- BICON, the biosecurity import conditions database (external site): the permit, treatment and document requirements for each commodity.
Quarantine approved cold storage FAQs
What is a quarantine approved premises?
It is the older name for a site approved to hold or treat imported goods that are still under biosecurity control. Since the Biosecurity Act 2015 took effect in 2016, such sites operate under approved arrangements with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Many people still search for the old term. For chilled and frozen imports, it means a cold store where goods can wait for inspection or release.
What does AQIS inspection mean?
AQIS was the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, whose work the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry now does, so an AQIS inspection today is a biosecurity inspection. An officer checks imported goods, their packaging or the container for pests, soil and other contamination, at the wharf or at an approved arrangement site. Chilled and frozen goods wait in range at an approved cold store until they are released.
What is a Class 1.1 approved arrangement?
Approved arrangements are grouped into numbered classes by activity and biosecurity risk. Class 1.1 is the sea and air freight depot (unrestricted) class: sites that receive, deconsolidate, store, inspect and treat goods subject to biosecurity control. Each class has its own conditions, so the class number alone does not tell you which goods a site may hold. Ask the operator for its arrangement details and check them with the department.
How do I check whether a cold store holds an approved arrangement?
Ask the operator for its approved arrangement number and class, then look it up in the department’s online approved arrangement search tool, which shows classes and activities for participants that agree to be listed. Confirm the arrangement covers cold storage of your commodity and that it is current. Where an operator states an approval, its cards on this page say so, but the department is the authority.
Why are imported chilled and frozen goods held at an approved cold store?
Imported goods stay under biosecurity control until they are released, and some must be inspected or treated first; the department can direct a consignment to an approved arrangement site for that. Chilled and frozen food cannot wait at ambient, so it goes to a cold store whose arrangement covers it. BICON, the department’s import conditions database, sets which permit, documents or treatment each commodity needs.
For imported goods already released, compare frozen storage and chilled storage facilities, or every facility in cold storage across Australia.