The cost to import everything from vehicles to white goods and e-commerce parcels will rise as the federal government funds the biggest boost to biosecurity in decades.
Economically devastating biosecurity threats like African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, and lumpy skin disease have been on Australia's doorstep for years, while beekeepers lived one of their worst nightmares last year when varroa mite broke through Australia's biosecurity defences.
Last night's federal budget contained a $1 billion package to keep biosecurity threats at bay, equating to an "ongoing, predictable" $268 million per year.
"For the very first time in our nation's history we will now have a sustainable biosecurity funding model to protect our agricultural industry, our natural environment, and our way of life," Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said.
"Years of biosecurity operations relying on stop gap, temporary funding injections, usually in response to imminent threats, are over."
The government is asking everyone who directly or indirectly contributes to the risk of a biosecurity incursion to pay for the expanded funding model, while the primary beneficiaries of Australia's robust biosecurity rules — farmers — will also be asked to chip in via a new levy.
Who pays what?
Leaving the country by air or sea from next year will cost $10 more thanks to an increase in the Passenger Movement Charge to $70.
While the whole $10 increase will not go toward biosecurity, a greater proportion of the funds collected from this charge will.
If you have a package coming from overseas, from the middle of next year a new fee of around 40 cents on each of those deliveries will ensure the biosecurity screenings are paid for by users.
At the bigger end of town, importers have already seen the cost of a Full Import Declaration (FID) charge increase from $49 to $58, and the government said it was still looking at imposing a container levy on imports.
"We've said in this budget that we have begun the work to make sure importers pay their fair share of biosecurity services," Mr Watt said.
"We are also going to further explore the possibility of an import or container levy as well, but we need to make sure it is robust and will stand up legally."
Farmer levy
Primary producers as a whole are also being asked to pay a new levy from the middle of 2024 equating to around $47.5 million annually, or 6 per cent of the total funding, for biosecurity.
"This will be a new biosecurity protection levy that will be applied to domestic farmers, foresters, and fishers," Mr Watt said.
"We felt that the simplest way to implement this was by imposing an additional levy of 10 per cent on the existing levies that farmers and others already pay."
In a speech delivered on Wednesday morning, Mr Watt pointed out the Cattle Council, National Farmers Federation, and Australian Food and Grocery Council had all made submissions to a recent consultation paper on biosecurity funding expressing support for a model where all parties contribute to the costs of biosecurity.
Cattle Australia chief executive Luke Bowen said increased costs of production would be passed on to consumers.
"We do not know how this levy will be collected yet and the process for consultation around it," he said.
"We are always concerned about increasing costs which will be passed on consumers and also producers who are already paying for biosecurity."
Central Queensland cattle grazier Will Wilson said he supported the new levy, but wanted the funds to be directed to on-farm biosecurity projects.
"We got our pants scared off us last year with the FMD and LSD outbreaks," he said.
"There's no point having biosecurity increased in the office world, or Canberra world. It's actually got to be improved or increased on farm".
Under the proposed scheme a grass-fed cattle producer would pay an extra 50 cents a head, while a cotton grower would pay an extra 22.5 cents per bale.
