Proposed Australian Biofouling Management Requirements

Public submissions on the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement
for the proposed Australian management requirements are welcome until 29 February 2012

All vessels entering Australian waters pose a risk to Australia’s marine biosecurity. To mitigate this risk, the Australian government is investigating new biofouling management requirements for vessels arriving in Australian waters.

In developing the requirements, the Australian government has been, and will continue to, work closely with stakeholders to ensure implementation arrangements are both practical and effective in minimising the biosecurity risk posed by biofouling.

Have your say

To assist in the development of Australian biofouling management requirements, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has developed a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) that explores biofouling management options and the costs and benefits of those options. The department seeks public input to the RIS through the following processes.

Stakeholder workshops during December 2011

Meetings will be held with stakeholders during December 2011 to explain the RIS, answer questions and discuss your feedback. If you wish to attend any of these meetings, please register by emailing the IMS Program or by phoning 02 6272 3995.

Making a submission

You are invited to provide your views on the RIS through a written submission. DAFF is particularly interested in your feedback on the questions posed in the RIS. However your comments on any aspect of the RIS are welcome.

• Regulation Impact statement PDF [997 KB]
• Regulation Impact statement Word [497 KB]

Reports relied upon in developing the RIS and other supporting information can be found below.

Conditions of submission

By making a submission, you will be taken to have read, understood and agreed to all conditions set out below.

Submission requirements

All submissions, whether lodged by email or by post, must be clearly marked ‘submission’ and use the submission form.

• Submission form Word [595 KB]
• Submission form PDF [38 KB]

For accessibility reasons, it is preferred that submissions are lodged electronically in Word or RTF format. An additional PDF version may also be submitted. Submissions sent by post must be typed or written clearly in black or blue ink on single-sided A4 paper.

Where to send your submission

Electronic submissions are preferred, and should be emailed to the IMS Program.

Posted submissions can be sent to:

Invasive Marine Species Program
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
Canberra City ACT 2601

The closing date for submissions is 29 February 2012.

Publication of submissions

To the extent possible, all submissions will be made available on our website. Personal details other than your name and the state or territory in which you reside will be removed before publishing.

If any information contained in your submission is to be treated as confidential, you must clearly identify the sensitive information and provide justification for treating it in-confidence on the submission cover sheet. If there is no indication of confidentiality requirements, the full submission will be published.

Handwritten submissions received by post may not be published on the website, but will still be considered as part of the consultation process.

Privacy

The personal information collected will only be used for the purposes of informing the Australian Government of your views on the draft proposal. If a submission contains information relating to a third party individual, the author of the submission will be taken to have obtained the expressed and informed consent of the relevant third party.

Discretion of Australian Government to refuse to publish material

The Australian Government reserves the right to refuse to publish submissions, or parts of submissions, which contain offensive language, potentially defamatory material or copyright infringing material.

Supporting documentation

• Frequently asked questions

Reports

• Species biofouling risk assessment PDF [6.1 MB]
• Species biofouling risk assessment Word [5.9 MB]
• Vessel biofouling risk assessment: Short version PDF [622 KB]
• Vessel biofouling risk assessment: Short version Word [328 KB]

Vessel risk profiles

• Commercial vessels
• Non-trading vessels
• Petroleum production and exploration
• Commercial fishing vessels
• Recreational vessels

Fact sheets

• The National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions
• Biofouling—the threat to Australia
• An overview of the Species biofouling risk assessment