What is Biosecurity Inspection?

Japan is the pioneer of automobile industry. Large numbers of vehicles are produced and exported from Japan every year. Along with new vehicles, Japanese used vehicles are also popular among people across the world. Numbers of containers and fleets arrive every day in many countries, thus bring along the risk of unwanted pests and bugs. To avoid this, vehicles imported from Japan are subjected to Biosecurity (Quarantine) inspection prior to their importation in another country. It is necessary to get the vehicle inspected to ensure that the vehicle imported is free of contamination related to Biosecurity, both internally and externally.

The officers of the Department of Agriculture’s Biosecurity inspect vehicles for contamination. Complete internal and external inspection is done on used vehicles before their arrival. If the vehicle is founded to be contaminated, then it is sent for the removal of contamination. Biosecurity officers will re-inspect the vehicle before it is released. If the vehicle is found to be heavily contaminated it may be re-exported.

There are Biosecurity regulations in many countries, but Australia and New Zealand are nations where Biosecurity regulations are very strict. If used vehicles entering in Australia and New Zealand are contaminated, then they are directed to a QAP and MPI approved decontamination facility respectively. Contamination of Biosecurity concern includes live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal waste, animal material and plant material such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, bark. Any decontamination process done on the vehicle is to remove contamination, it does not including cleaning of the vehicle.

Decontamination-
It is important to keep in mind that when the vehicle arrives in Australia and New Zealand it must be thoroughly clean and free from contamination. Below are important interior and exterior points in the vehicle to be checked-

Exterior points to check:-

• Wheels, wheel guards and mud guards
• Underside of the vehicle
• Above and around the fuel tank
• Inside chassis rails
• External vents
• Around window seals
• Sticky protective wheel and bonnet covers on new vehicles.

Interior components to check:-

• Boot area including spare tire and wheel well.
• Engine bay—remove water from the windshield reservoir and ensure the grille and radiator cooling fins are clean and free of debris.
• Internal storage compartments including console.
• Under seats and mats
• In seat folds
• Internal vents
• Internal window, door seals and around door locks.

Used vehicle importer has to pay necessary fees required for inspection and treatment of the vehicle. In case, the vehicle is contaminated, treatment is done by another organization; the Department of Agriculture does not have to do anything with the decontamination process. While importing used Japanese vehicles, importers should get the vehicle inspected to make sure that the vehicle imported is free from any contamination and meets the country’s safety regulations and standards.