​Amendments to Import Requirement (IR) 11 have come into immediate effect from midnight on Tuesday 28 May 2019, removing import conditions specific to onion smut (whilst still retaining import conditions for Iris Yellow Spot Tospovirus (IYSV).
The disease onion smut (Urocystis cepulae) has been formally reported by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR),  to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat, as no longer being present in Australia. The report was made on 28 May 2019 (https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/australia/pestreports/).

As onion smut is now reported absent from Australia, Biosecurity Tasmania has revoked onion smut (Urocystis cepulae) from being a List A Regulated Quarantine Pest of concern, to a Non-Quarantine Pest on 28 May 2019.

Further, Biosecurity Tasmania has immediately amended the existing import regulatory conditions of IR11 to both:

1. Recognise the delisting of the disease as a quarantine pest of concern by removing any reference to it in IR11; and
2. Remove any impositions in trade of Allium species (onions, garlic, chives, shallots, etc) that applied to this disease.

Import conditions remain in place for preventing the entry of the serious viral pathogen, Iris Yellow Spot Virus (IYSV), which could have a very damaging impact on the onion industry in Tasmania if introduced.

The amended version of IR11 is available here

For more biosecurity information visit the website at:  www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/biosecurity or contact Biosecurity Tasmania on 03 6165 3777 or email:  Biosecurity.Tasmania@dppipwe.tas.gov.au