More than 359,000 passengers intercepted by biosecurity personnel in 2025
More than 40,000 high-risk items were seized after being detected by biosecurity detector dogs at Australia’s airports, sea ports and postal centers in 2025; More than 9600 of these were made by international mail alone.
According to newly announced data, 359,000 more passengers will be caught at the country’s airports in 2025.
This comes as the Albanian government is stepping up its crackdown on biosecurity crimes, with $2 billion being spent on additional resources for the “world-leading” system, including funds to support enforcement activities.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the government would “never compromise on biosecurity”.
“That’s why we’ve secured more than $2 billion in additional biosecurity resources, added 20 additional detector dogs across the country and have more than 1,000 biosecurity officers at Australia’s international airports, ports and postal centres,” he said.
Ms Collins said there would be zero tolerance for “those who deliberately seek to circumvent Australia’s stringent biosecurity requirements”.
“You will be caught and you will suffer the consequences,” he said.
In 2025, approximately 64 tons of meat products were seized by biosecurity authorities.
A woman was also sentenced to two years in the community after being found guilty of illegally importing 62 tonnes of illegal pork products, insect-infested fresh fruit and vegetables, frog meat and raw prawns for distribution on the Sydney black market.
Separately, another woman was sentenced to six months in prison and released on bail after pleading guilty to illegally declaring a package containing 57 cacti and succulents as underwear and shoes.
An Australian grape export company has also been fined more than $1 million for submitting false or misleading documentation to obtain a phytosanitary certificate and permits to export table grapes, at the direction of authorities in New Zealand.
Australia is considered to have one of the world’s toughest biosecurity regimes, put in place to protect not only local ecosystems but also Australian crops and animals; If these regimes are affected, it could lead to job losses, food supply shortages and trade-related problems.
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, people convicted of illegal imports could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $1.6 million.
Corporate entities can also be fined, sued, and deregistered under the Export Control Act 2020.
In total, more than 280,000 commercial air and sea shipments will be inspected in 2025, potentially preventing tens of thousands of harmful pests, diseases and weeds from entering Australia.
