{"id":"F2019L00761","name":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Cairns Airport) Determination 2019","slug":"biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440089,"registerId":"F2019L00761-fast-fetch-1775955859622","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Cairns Airport) Determination 2019","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 (First Point of Entry—Cairns Airport) Determination 2019\n\nI, Dean Merrilees, as delegate of the Director of Biosecurity, make the following determination.\n\nDated 7 June 2019\n\nDean Merrilees\n\nAssistant Secretary  Compliance Division  Department of Agriculture\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\nPart 2—First point of entry\n\n5  First point of entry—aircraft\n\n6  First point of entry—goods\n\nPart 3—Biosecurity entry points\n\n7  Biosecurity entry points—aircraft\n\n8  Biosecurity entry points—goods\n\nPart 4—Conditions\n\n9  Conditions—notifying Agriculture Department of changes\n\n \n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This is the Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Cairns Airport) Determination 2019.\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this instrument 16 June 2019. 16 June 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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 223(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 9 of the Act.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Biosecurity Act 2015.\n\naircraft means an aircraft (as defined by section 9 of the Act) that is subject to biosecurity control.\n\ngoods means goods (as defined by section 19 of the Act):\n\n (a) that are subject to biosecurity control; or\n\n (b) in relation to which an exposed goods order is in force.\n\n \n\n \n\nPart 2—First point of entry\n\n \n\n5  First point of entry—aircraft\n\n  Cairns Airport is a first point of entry for aircraft generally.\n\n6  First point of entry—goods\n\n  Cairns Airport is a first point of entry for goods other than live horses.\n\nNote: For other matters relating to whether particular goods may be brought into a particular first point of entry, see sections 173 and 174 of the Act (which deal with prohibited goods and conditionally non‑prohibited goods) and any determinations made under those sections.\n\nPart 3—Biosecurity entry points\n\n \n\n7  Biosecurity entry points—aircraft\n\nNote: An aircraft must be brought to a biosecurity entry point at a first point of entry if there is a biosecurity entry point for the aircraft at that first point of entry (see section 238 of the Act). If there are no biosecurity entry points for aircraft at a first point of entry, this requirement does not apply to aircraft landing there. This determination does not designate any area of Cairns Airport as a biosecurity entry point for aircraft.\n\n \n\n8  Biosecurity entry points—goods\n\n  Each area of Cairns Airport specified in column 2 of an item of the following table is designated as a biosecurity entry point for goods, or goods included in a class of goods, specified in column 1 of the item.\n\n \n\n- Biosecurity entry points—goods\n- Item Column 1Goods Column 2Areas\n- 1 Baggage Cairns Airport International Terminal\n\n\nNote 1: If an aircraft has arrived at Cairns Airport and is carrying goods mentioned in the table that are to be unloaded from the aircraft, those goods must be brought to a biosecurity entry point for those goods as soon as practicable (see section 147 of the Act).\n\nNote 2: This determination does not designate biosecurity entry points for other goods for which Cairns Airport is a first point of entry, so the requirement in section 147 of the Act does not apply to the unloading of those other goods.\n\nPart 4—Conditions\n\n \n\n9  Conditions—notifying Agriculture Department of changes\n\n (1) The determination of Cairns Airport as a first point of entry by this instrument is subject to the conditions in this section.\n\n (2) If the owner (or, if there is more than one owner, an owner) of Cairns Airport becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Cairns Airport; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Cairns Airport;\n\nthe owner (or, if there is more than one owner, an owner) must give the Agriculture Department, in writing, notice of the change as soon as practicable after becoming aware that the change has occurred or will occur.\n\n (3) If the lessee (if any) (or, if there is more than one lessee, a lessee) of Cairns Airport becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Cairns Airport; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Cairns Airport;\n\nthe lessee (or, if there is more than one lessee, a lessee) must give the Agriculture Department, in writing, notice of the change as soon as practicable after becoming aware that the change has occurred or will occur.\n\n (4) If a person or body that is responsible for carrying out operations at Cairns Airport proposes to make a change referred to in subsection (5), the person or body must give the Agriculture Department, in writing, reasonable notice of the proposed change.\n\n (5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the changes are as follows:\n\n (a) a change to the procedures at Cairns Airport providing for biosecurity measures to be taken to manage the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Cairns Airport;\n\n (b) a change to the facilities or amenities available at Cairns Airport for biosecurity officials and human biosecurity officers to perform functions or exercise powers under the Act at Cairns Airport;\n\n (c) a change to the procedures at Cairns Airport that may affect the ability of a person who carries out operations at Cairns Airport to identify biosecurity risks associated with those operations;\n\n (d) a change to the procedures at Cairns Airport that may affect the ability for biosecurity officials or human biosecurity officials to be informed of any identified biosecurity risks associated with operations carried out at Cairns Airport;\n\n (e) a change to the procedures at Cairns Airport for managing any other factors that may contribute to, or affect, the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Cairns Airport.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument itself declares the scope it applies (Cairns Airport as first point of entry for aircraft and for goods except live horses, and the baggage area as a biosecurity entry point) and imposes notification conditions. It does not state any amendment to the Act or other determinations and does not expand beyond those specific designations and conditions (ss5–9)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple provisions of the Biosecurity Act create reliance on external definitions and duties (see Act ss9, 147, 173, 174, 238 referenced in notes).","Limited geographic and commodity scope (Cairns Airport; goods except live horses) requires users to check applicability for particular flights or goods (ss5–6).","Designation of a single biosecurity entry point for baggage narrows operational routes and may require physical handling changes at the International Terminal (s8, table).","Notification obligations fall on owners, lessees and operational bodies and use staggered triggers (becomes aware; proposes change; reasonable notice), producing compliance timing requirements (s9(2)–(4)).","Terms such as 'owner', 'lessee' and 'person or body responsible for carrying out operations' can create ambiguity about which entity must act in multi‑party airport arrangements (s9).","Instrument is administrative and delegated (made under s223(1) of the Act by a delegate), leaving scope for departmental enforcement and interpretation."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument names Cairns Airport as a first point of entry for aircraft generally and for goods except live horses, and designates the International Terminal baggage area as the biosecurity entry point for baggage. It affects airport owners, lessees, operators, airlines, freight handlers and passengers by specifying where aircraft/goods must be processed (ss5–6, 8). Owners, lessees and operational bodies must notify the Agriculture Department of changes to operators, facilities or biosecurity procedures, creating a clear notification and compliance obligation (s9)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: designating Cairns Airport as a first point of entry with specific conditions. The scope has not expanded beyond this administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with only 9 sections across 4 Parts","Minimal defined terms (only 2 explicit definitions in section 4, plus references to Act definitions)","Simple structure: designation of entry point, specification of entry points for goods, and notification conditions","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic beyond basic 'if-then' notification requirements","Limited cross-referencing (primarily to Biosecurity Act 2015 for definitions and related provisions)","Single exclusion (live horses) with clear note directing to other legislation"],"plain_english_summary":"Cairns Airport is officially designated a “first point of entry” for international aircraft and most international goods (excluding live horses), meaning arrivals and passenger baggage must be processed there so biosecurity officers can inspect for pests, diseases and other risks. \n\nThis affects Cairns Airport owners/operators, airlines and cargo handlers, who must comply with inspection rules and notify the Department of Agriculture of changes to operators, entry points, or biosecurity arrangements."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019","history":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-cairns-airport-determination-2019/documents"}}