{"id":"F2019L00786","name":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry— Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown) Determination 2019","slug":"biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440105,"registerId":"F2019L00786-fast-fetch-1775955868130","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry— Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown) 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—Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown) Determination 2019\n\n \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\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— Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown) 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this instrument 16 June 2019. 16 June 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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\nwaste means goods (as defined by section 19 of the Act):\n\n (a) that are subject to biosecurity control; and\n\n (b) that are intended, by the person in charge of the aircraft on which the goods are carried, to be disposed of.\n\nPart 2—First point of entry\n\n \n\n5  First point of entry—aircraft\n\n  Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown is a first point of entry for aircraft generally.\n\n6  First point of entry—goods\n\n  Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown is a first point of entry for the following:\n\n (a) baggage;\n\n (b) waste.\n\nNote 1: Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown is not a first point of entry for any other goods.\n\nNote 2: 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 Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown as a biosecurity entry point for aircraft.\n\n8  Biosecurity entry points—goods\n\n  Each area of Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 The following areas:(a) Newcastle Airport International Terminal;(b) Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown Air Movements Terminal\n\n\nNote 1: If an aircraft has arrived at Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 Newcastle Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown;\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 Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown;\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 Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown providing for biosecurity measures to be taken to manage the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown;\n\n (b) a change to the facilities or amenities available at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown for biosecurity officials and human biosecurity officers to perform functions or exercise powers under the Act at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown;\n\n (c) a change to the procedures at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown that may affect the ability of a person who carries out operations at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown to identify biosecurity risks associated with those operations;\n\n (d) a change to the procedures at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown 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 Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown;\n\n (e) a change to the procedures at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown for managing any other factors that may contribute to, or affect, the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Newcastle Airport or Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: designating a specific regional airport and military base as a first point of entry with limited goods categories and basic administrative conditions. No scope creep detected."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with only 9 sections across 4 Parts","Minimal defined terms (only 3: 'Act', 'aircraft', 'goods', 'waste')","Straightforward conditional logic in notification requirements (subsections 9(2)-(5))","Single cross-reference to parent Act (Biosecurity Act 2015) for definitions and operational provisions","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Tabular format for biosecurity entry points aids readability"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument formally makes Newcastle Airport and nearby RAAF Base Williamtown a first point of entry for international flights into Australia, allowing overseas aircraft to arrive there while restricting incoming goods to passenger baggage and aircraft waste. It requires baggage to use designated biosecurity areas, and obliges airport owners/operators to notify the Agriculture Department of changes to operators, biosecurity procedures, facilities, or risk management. The change strengthens local biosecurity controls and accountability."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument itself establishes and limits scope rather than amending an earlier designation. It designates the two locations as first points of entry for aircraft generally and for baggage and waste only, and names the specific baggage biosecurity entry points (ss5–6, 8). No text in this instrument purports to expand or narrow a prior instrument; its scope is explicitly defined and limited in the provisions cited."},"complexity_factors":["Interdependence with multiple Biosecurity Act provisions—made under s223(1) and cross‑refers to s147 (unloading), ss173–174 (prohibited/conditional goods) and s238 (biosecurity entry point rules), increasing legal cross‑references and interpretive steps","Differentiated designations—aircraft are designated generally (s5) while goods are limited to baggage and waste (s6), requiring users to distinguish classes of arrivals","Selective biosecurity entry points—baggage entry points are named (s8) but no aircraft biosecurity entry point is designated, creating a potential operational gap to which s238 applies (note to s7)","Notification and timing obligations—owners/lessees must give written notice ‘as soon as practicable’ of changes (s9(2)–(3)); operators must give ‘reasonable notice’ of proposed operational changes (s9(4)), creating subjective timing standards","Multiple responsible actors—obligations apply to owners, lessees and persons/bodies responsible for operations (s9), dispersing compliance duties across parties","Operational detail left to local procedures—changes affecting facilities, procedures or information flows trigger notice duties (s9(5)(a)–(e)), requiring local governance and recordkeeping","Commencement mechanics are specified (commencement table), so implementers must track effective dates and published versions"],"plain_english_summary":"This determination makes Newcastle Airport and RAAF Base Williamtown first points of entry: for aircraft generally and for baggage and waste specifically, and it designates baggage biosecurity entry points at the Newcastle International Terminal and the RAAF Air Movements Terminal (ss5–6, 8). Owners, lessees and operators must notify the Department of Agriculture in writing of business, procedural or facility changes affecting biosecurity, and operators must give reasonable notice of proposed operational changes (s9). The measure fixes where certain arrivals are processed and creates written and reasonable‑notice compliance duties."},"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-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d","history":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d/history","analysis":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-newcastle-airport-and-royal-australian-air-force-base-williamtown-d/documents"}}