4 years ago
The Australian government has revoked the visas of 14 people since October 2019 for bringing banned food.
The Australian Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Affairs, David Littleprowd, said in a statement that the visas had been revoked since October 1, 2019, following the introduction of a new biosecurity law.
Under the law, two Ukrainian nationals had their visas revoked on Tuesday, September 1, according to Minister LittleProud, the first such incident since the border was closed to international travelers.
One of the passengers had brought 1975 grams of raw pork, 660 grams of salami, 100 grams of skin, 340 grams of chicken and 1220 grams of fish while the other passenger had brought 2235 grams of pork and fat.
"Every food item caught is considered a risk to Australia's agribusiness and the environment. Australia cannot jeopardize its clean, green image in the eyes of the world by importing goods without declaration.
We have dangerous diseases like African swine flu at our doorstep and one way for her to enter Australia could be such dangerous food brought by international travelers, ”said Minister LittleProud in a statement.
The passengers had violated sub-section 533,910 of Australia's Biosecurity Act by giving false information on a passenger card to be filled when arriving in Australia.
The two passengers landed at Perth International Airport from Singapore on Friday, August 28, where they were scheduled to board a 14-day quarantine and board a ship from Fremantle.
The biosecurity office notified the Australian Border Force that their visas had been revoked after the food was found in their luggage.
What to do when bringing food to Australia?
All information can be obtained by visiting the Australian Border Force's website to find out what food can be brought to Australia. Any prohibited items cannot be brought.
When bringing food,it has to be 'declared' on the passenger card given on the plane.
The passenger card is a legally recognized document where the passenger must mark the food, plant or animal product to declare the food he has brought.
After making such an announcement, it is checked by the biosecurity officials at the airport.
If the goods are banned, they can even voluntarily throw them in the garbage collection container at the airport.
What happens if you bring banned food without announcing it?
Australian citizens can be fined up to AUD 444 for bringing hazardous food into Australia "unannounced" and foreigners may even have their visas revoked.
A bill to change the law to increase the fine for high-risk food to AUD 2,264 is also being debated in parliament. Incidents of a more serious nature related to biosecurity range from a fine of AUD 444,000 to up to 10 years in prison.
