{"id":"F2023L01672","name":"Biosecurity (Electronic Decisions) Determination 2023","slug":"biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442213,"registerId":"F2023L01672-fast-fetch-1775957273850","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Biosecurity (Electronic Decisions) Determination 2023","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nBiosecurity (Electronic Decisions) Determination 2023\n\nI, Adam Phillip Fennessy PSM, Director of Biosecurity, make the following determination.\n\nDated 13 December 2023\n\nAdam Phillip Fennessy PSM  Adam Phillip Fennessy PSM\n\nDirector of Biosecurity\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Use of computer programs to make decisions\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Biosecurity (Electronic Decisions) Determination 2023.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The seventh day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 541A(2) of the Biosecurity Act 2015.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) Agriculture Department;\n\n(b) biosecurity officer;\n\n(c) conveyance;\n\n(d) person in charge.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Biosecurity Act 2015.\n\nauthorised computer program: see subsection 5(1).\n\n5  Use of computer programs to make decisions\n\nRelevant provisions under which decisions may be made by operation of a computer program\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 541A(2)(a) of the Act, a decision under the following relevant provisions of the Act may be made by the operation of a computer program (an authorised computer program) under an arrangement made under subsection 541A(1) of the Act:\n\n (a) subsection 195(2) or (3);\n\n (b) subsection 200(1);\n\n (c) subsection 201(1).\n\nClasses of persons who may use computer program\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph 541A(2)(b) of the Act, each of the following is a class of persons that may use an authorised computer program for a decision referred to in subsection (1) of this section:\n\n (a) persons:\n\n (i) who are a biosecurity officer; and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (b) persons:\n\n (i) who are an APS employee of the Agriculture Department; and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (c) persons:\n\n (i) who are performing services for the Agriculture Department under a contract; and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (d) persons:\n\n (i) who are a registered agent (within the meaning of the Shipping Registration Act 1981) in relation to a ship (within the meaning of that Act); and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (e) persons:\n\n (i) who are a master (within the meaning of the Admiralty Act 1988) in relation to a ship (within the meaning of that Act); and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (f) persons:\n\n (i) who are an aircraft operator or airline (within the meaning of the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004); and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program;\n\n (g) persons:\n\n (i) in charge of a conveyance or acting on behalf of a person in charge of a conveyance; and\n\n (ii) who have a unique identifier issued by the Agriculture Department that enables the person to access the computer program.\n\nConditions of use of computer program\n\n (3) For the purposes of paragraph 541A(2)(c) of the Act, a person in a class of persons who may use an authorised computer program under subsection (2) of this section must:\n\n (a) be satisfied on reasonable grounds that information entered into the computer program by the person for the purpose of enabling decisions to be made by operation of the computer program is true and correct; and\n\n (b) ensure that the information is accurately entered into the computer program.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument authorises automation for specific decision-making powers in the Act (subsections 195(2)/(3), 200(1), 201(1)) and prescribes who may operate authorised computer programs and their obligations (see s3 and s5). Concretely, it permits those listed decisions to be made by computer program under arrangements permitted by the Act, shifting operational decision-making from exclusively manual processes to permitted automated processes; identity management and compliance burdens fall on the Agriculture Department and the users who receive unique identifiers (see s5(1)–(3))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple provisions of the Biosecurity Act (authority under subsection 541A(2); decisions under subsections 195(2)/(3), 200(1), 201(1)) mean the instrument must be read with the Act (see s3 and s5(1)).","Dependency on administrative arrangements made under subsection 541A(1) (delegated implementation detail not in the instrument) increases operational complexity (see s5(1)).","Identification and access hinge on a departmental 'unique identifier' issued by the Agriculture Department, creating identity-management and access-control requirements (see s5(2) classes).","User-facing legal standards are partly subjective — users must be 'satisfied on reasonable grounds' that entered information is true and correct — which introduces judgment and evidentiary questions (see s5(3)(a)).","Limited procedural detail about auditing, oversight, error correction, appeal rights or liability for automated decisions increases implementation and compliance risk.","Small, targeted scope reduces statutory complexity but shifts technical and administrative complexity to the department and authorised users."],"plain_english_summary":"This determination allows specified biosecurity decisions to be made by authorised computer programs, and it names who may use those programs and the basic rules for doing so. It affects biosecurity officers, Agriculture Department staff and contractors, ship and airline operators and agents, masters and persons in charge of conveyances who are issued a departmental unique identifier; those users must ensure information entered is true and accurately recorded."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Determination remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: authorising specific computerised decision-making under section 541A of the Biosecurity Act 2015. It does not expand beyond the three specific decision types listed in section 5(1) and the enumerated classes of users in section 5(2)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (only 5 substantive sections)","Minimal defined terms (only 2 explicit definitions in section 4, plus references to existing Act definitions)","Simple structure: name, commencement, authority, definitions, operative provision","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Straightforward cross-referencing to specific subsections of the parent Biosecurity Act 2015","List-based drafting for classes of persons (clear, non-technical enumeration)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination lets specified routine biosecurity decisions—releasing goods or conveyances from control and permitting conveyances to enter—be made automatically by authorised computer systems instead of a human officer.  \n\nIt applies to biosecurity officers, Agriculture Department staff and contractors, and to shipping/aircraft operators or agents with issued identifiers; users must honestly and accurately enter information. The change speeds trade and travel while placing responsibility for data accuracy on users."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023","history":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/biosecurity-electronic-decisions-determination-2023/documents"}}