{"id":"F2019L00777","name":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Port of Cairns) Determination 2019","slug":"biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440099,"registerId":"F2019L00777-fast-fetch-1775955865936","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Port of Cairns) 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—Port of Cairns) 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\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—vessels\n\n6  First point of entry—goods\n\nPart 3—Biosecurity entry points\n\n7  Biosecurity entry points—vessels\n\n8  Biosecurity entry points—goods\n\nPart 4—Conditions\n\n9  Conditions—notifying Agriculture Department of changes\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n  This is the Biosecurity (First Point of Entry—Port of Cairns) 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this instrument 16 June 2019. 16 June 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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 229(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\nfreight container means a re‑usable container:\n\n (a) that is designed to be used to transport goods by one or more modes of transport; and\n\n (b) that can be transferred from one mode of transport to another without unloading the goods from the container; and\n\n (c) that is known as a 20‑foot‑long container or a 40‑foot‑long container.\n\ngeneral goods means goods (as defined by section 19 of the Act) other than baggage, freight containers, live horses or waste.\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\ninorganic bulk goods means chemicals, ores, minerals or gases that:\n\n (a) are brought or imported into Australian territory in bulk; and\n\n (b) do not contain animals, plants, organic compounds or microbes.\n\nnon‑commercial vessel has the same meaning as in the Biosecurity Regulation 2016.\n\nnon‑commercial vessel baggage means baggage carried on a non‑commercial vessel.\n\nnon‑commercial vessel waste means waste carried on a non‑commercial vessel.\n\npassenger vessel baggage means baggage carried on a passenger vessel.\n\nvessel means a vessel (as defined by section 9 of the Act) that is subject to biosecurity control.\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 vessel on which the goods are carried, to be disposed of.\n\nPart 2—First point of entry\n\n5  First point of entry—vessels\n\n  Port of Cairns is a first point of entry for vessels generally.\n\n6  First point of entry—goods\n\n  Port of Cairns 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\n7  Biosecurity entry points—vessels\n\n  Each area of Port of Cairns specified in column 2 of an item of the following table is designated as a biosecurity entry point for a vessel, or a vessel included in a class of vessels, specified in column 1 of the item.\n\n \n\n- Biosecurity entry points—vessels\n- Item Column 1Vessels Column 2Areas\n- 1 Non-commercial vessels Marlin Marina\n- 2 Vessels other than non‑commercial vessels The following areas:(a) Wharf 1;(b) Wharf 2;(c) Wharf 3;(d) Wharf 4;(e) Wharf 5;(f) Wharf 6;(g) Wharf 7;(h) Wharf 8\n- 3 Vessels other than passenger vessels BSE Cairns Slipways\n- 4 Vessels other than the following:(a) non‑commercial vessels;(b) passenger vessels The following areas:(a) HMAS Cairns;(b) Tropical Reef Shipyard;(c) Wharf 10;(d) Wharf 12\n\n\nNote: A vessel that has arrived at Port of Cairns must be brought to a biosecurity entry point for the vessel at that port as soon as practicable (see section 246 of the Act).\n\n8  Biosecurity entry points—goods\n\n  Each area of Port of Cairns 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 All of the following:(a) non‑commercial vessel baggage;(b) non-commercial vessel waste The following areas:(a) BSE Cairns Slipways;(b) Marlin Marina\n- 2 Freight containers The following areas:(a) Wharf 7;(b) Wharf 8\n- 3 General goods The following areas:(a) HMAS Cairns;(b) Wharf 1;(c) Wharf 2;(d) Wharf 3;(e) Wharf 4;(f) Wharf 5;(g) Wharf 6;(h) Wharf 7;(i) Wharf 8\n- 4 Inorganic bulk goods The following areas:(a) HMAS Cairns;(b) Wharf 1;(c) Wharf 2;(d) Wharf 3;(e) Wharf 4;(f) Wharf 5;(g) Wharf 6;(h) Wharf 7;(i) Wharf 8;(j) Wharf 10\n- 5 Passenger vessel baggage The following areas:(a) Wharf 2;(b) Wharf 3\n- 6 Waste The following areas:(a) BSE Cairns Slipways;(b) HMAS Cairns;(c) Tropical Reef Shipyard;(d) Wharf 1;(e) Wharf 2;(f) Wharf 3;(g) Wharf 4;(h) Wharf 5;(i) Wharf 6;(j) Wharf 7;(k) Wharf 8;(l) Wharf 10;(m) Wharf 12\n\n\nNote 1: If a vessel has arrived at Port of Cairns and is carrying goods mentioned in the table that are to be unloaded from the vessel, 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 Port of Cairns 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\n9  Conditions—notifying Agriculture Department of changes\n\n (1) The determination of Port of Cairns 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 Port of Cairns becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Port of Cairns; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Port of Cairns;\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 Port of Cairns becomes aware that there has been, or will be, a change to the business entity operating:\n\n (a) Port of Cairns; or\n\n (b) a biosecurity entry point at Port of Cairns;\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 Port of Cairns 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 Port of Cairns providing for biosecurity measures to be taken to manage the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Port of Cairns;\n\n (b) a change to the facilities or amenities available at Port of Cairns for biosecurity officials and human biosecurity officers to perform functions or exercise powers under the Act at Port of Cairns;\n\n (c) a change to the procedures at Port of Cairns that may affect the ability of a person who carries out operations at Port of Cairns to identify biosecurity risks associated with those operations;\n\n (d) a change to the procedures at Port of Cairns 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 Port of Cairns;\n\n (e) a change to the procedures at Port of Cairns for managing any other factors that may contribute to, or affect, the level of biosecurity risk associated with operations carried out at Port of Cairns.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Determination serves its original narrow purpose: designating a specific port and mapping its physical facilities to biosecurity categories. It has not expanded beyond the standard template for first point of entry determinations under the Biosecurity Act 2015."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (9 sections, ~4 pages)","Straightforward tabular structure for vessel/goods assignments (2 tables with clear Item/Column 1/Column 2 format)","Limited cross-referencing — only references Biosecurity Act 2015, Biosecurity Regulation 2016, and specific sections (9, 19, 147, 173, 174, 229, 246)","7 defined terms in section 4, plus reliance on Act definitions — manageable scope","Simple conditional logic — notification obligations triggered by awareness of changes (subsections 9(2)-(3)) or proposals for changes (subsection 9(4))","No nested exceptions or recursive definitions","Clear separation of vessel rules (Part 2-3) from goods rules (Part 3) and conditions (Part 4)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination designates the Port of Cairns as an official first point of entry for most international vessels and goods, assigns specific wharves/facilities to vessel and cargo types (e.g., marinas for non‑commercial craft, designated container and passenger baggage wharves), and requires the port owner/operator to notify the Agriculture Department of operational or biosecurity changes. It binds ship operators, stevedores, the port owner and biosecurity officers to controlled entry procedures to protect Australia’s biosecurity."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument applies the Biosecurity Act to a specific place: it designates Port of Cairns and particular areas within it as a first point of entry and as biosecurity entry points for specified classes of vessels/goods, and imposes notification conditions. It does not, on its face, expand the substantive scope of the Act; it narrows and specifies where and how existing Act powers operate (noting the exclusion of live horses and that some goods are not designated)."},"complexity_factors":["Location- and class-specific designations for vessels and goods create operational detail that must be implemented on the ground (ss5–8).","Definitions and exclusions (e.g. goods, freight container, inorganic bulk goods, live horses excluded) require matching operations to statutory categories (s4, s6).","Cross-references to multiple provisions of the Biosecurity Act make obligations conditional on Act thresholds and duties (notes referencing ss147, 173, 174, 229, 246).","Notification and procedural-change obligations on owners, lessees and operators create ongoing compliance and recordkeeping burdens (s9(2)–(5)).","Multiple discrete physical locations (wharves, marinas, slipways, shipyards) increase logistics and routing complexity for masters and operators (ss7–8).","Instrument is a delegated determination made under the Act, so administrative action and enforcement discretion rest with the Department and its delegates (s3)."],"plain_english_summary":"Makes Port of Cairns a legal first point of entry for vessels and most goods and designates specific wharves/areas as the required biosecurity entry points. It also obliges port owners, lessees and operators to notify the Department of Agriculture of changes to operators, facilities or biosecurity procedures.\n\nAffected parties — port owners, operators, ship masters, importers and biosecurity officers — must route vessels/goods to the designated points and comply with written notice requirements; the port and commercial operators bear most operational and compliance costs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019","history":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/biosecurity-first-point-of-entry-port-of-cairns-determination-2019/documents"}}