Almost $100 million raised from importers for stronger biosecurity in first three months of sustainable funding

The Albanese Government’s billion-dollar Sustainable Biosecurity Funding model is already delivering results, with an additional $11.3 million in fees and charges collected from importers in its first 3 months.

Announced in the May Budget, from 1 July next year the cost of the new sustainable funding model will be shared equitably between taxpayers (44%), risk creators (48%) and the direct beneficiaries (6%) of the biosecurity system.

Taxpayers - through the government – are chipping in a significant increase to biosecurity funding.

But something that many haven’t recognised is that importers, as major risk creators, are now paying their fair share. 

As a result of our changes on 1 July, cost recovery from importers has totalled $97.4 million in just over three months of the new regime. 

This includes $11.3 million in extra revenue because we took action to increase fees and charges, so that importers are paying the full cost of biosecurity services they receive. This is something the Coalition failed to do for 8 long years, putting our biosecurity system at risk.

These funds go directly back into our biosecurity system, protecting Australian agriculture and the community from harmful pests and diseases that threaten trade and our way of life.

These increased fees and charges are on track to raise more money for biosecurity operations than the Coalition’s failed container levy would have ever brought in.

Please attribute to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt:

“I was shocked to find that the biosecurity budget we inherited was on track to fall by about 25%, because it was built on temporary, short-term funding.

“At a time when we face more biosecurity threats, I couldn’t believe - and wouldn’t accept – that the Coalition had locked in annual biosecurity funding cuts of almost $100 million every year. 

“I was surprised to learn that biosecurity fees and charges had not been properly reviewed since 2015, which meant that importers weren’t paying the full cost of the services they received, with taxpayers picking up the tab.

“I listened to calls from producers to charge importers more, seeing as imported shipping containers and other goods are one of the largest creators of biosecurity risk.

“For all the Opposition’s talk about container levies – which they scrapped when in office – they did absolutely nothing to make importers pay their way.

“With our changes, for the first time, importers are starting to pay their fair share.”