The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has issued Notice 20-2026 confirming a complete outage of multiple import and biosecurity IT systems—including the Biosecurity Portal, AAMP, BCST and EVE—from 00:01 AEDT Saturday 21 February until 23:59 AEDT Sunday 22 February.
During the shutdown, airlines and shipping lines will need to revert to manual entry documentation for cargo manifests and biosecurity declarations. Most air and sea travellers will not notice major differences, but operators warn that manual processing typically adds 5–15 minutes per passenger for secondary screening, potentially compounding airport queues in Sydney and Melbourne.
![48-Hour Biosecurity IT Shutdown Set for 21-22 Feb—Expect Delays at Borders]()
If you’re worried about navigating visa or entry paperwork amid these disruptions, VisaHQ can streamline the process by securing electronic travel authorisations and alerting you to any last-minute documentation changes. Their portal for Australia—https://www.visahq.com/australia/—offers updated guidance and rapid application services, helping travellers and logistics teams stay compliant even when government systems are offline.
Cargo brokers are being told to lodge critical import declarations by 6 p.m. Friday to avoid clearance hold-ups, and exporters of time-sensitive perishables have been advised to pre-book inspection slots or arrange cold-storage contingencies. DAFF will activate contingency hotlines and deploy extra staff at major gateways, but business travellers moving samples or demo equipment should carry hard-copy import approvals.
The outage forms part of the final migration of legacy databases to a new cloud-based biosecurity analytics platform due to go live in April. Industry feedback from earlier cut-overs suggests most electronic lodgements clear smoothly once systems return, but initial backlogs can last 24–36 hours.
During the shutdown, airlines and shipping lines will need to revert to manual entry documentation for cargo manifests and biosecurity declarations. Most air and sea travellers will not notice major differences, but operators warn that manual processing typically adds 5–15 minutes per passenger for secondary screening, potentially compounding airport queues in Sydney and Melbourne.
If you’re worried about navigating visa or entry paperwork amid these disruptions, VisaHQ can streamline the process by securing electronic travel authorisations and alerting you to any last-minute documentation changes. Their portal for Australia—https://www.visahq.com/australia/—offers updated guidance and rapid application services, helping travellers and logistics teams stay compliant even when government systems are offline.
Cargo brokers are being told to lodge critical import declarations by 6 p.m. Friday to avoid clearance hold-ups, and exporters of time-sensitive perishables have been advised to pre-book inspection slots or arrange cold-storage contingencies. DAFF will activate contingency hotlines and deploy extra staff at major gateways, but business travellers moving samples or demo equipment should carry hard-copy import approvals.
The outage forms part of the final migration of legacy databases to a new cloud-based biosecurity analytics platform due to go live in April. Industry feedback from earlier cut-overs suggests most electronic lodgements clear smoothly once systems return, but initial backlogs can last 24–36 hours.
