Food & Beverage Customs Brokers

Food and beverage imports are among the most heavily regulated commodity types entering Australia. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) administers biosecurity controls under the Biosecurity Act 2015, requiring import permits, health certificates, and physical inspections for most food products. The risk level assigned to each food type determines the inspection rate — high-risk goods like uncooked meat, dairy, and seafood face mandatory testing, while lower-risk processed foods may be subject to random inspections.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) sets the compositional and labelling standards that all imported food must meet. The Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) operates at the border to verify compliance, and goods that fail inspection can be held, re-exported, or destroyed at the importer's cost. Labelling requirements include mandatory nutrition information panels, allergen declarations, and country of origin labelling under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016.

Customs brokers experienced with food imports coordinate DAFF inspections, manage cold chain documentation for temperature-controlled goods, and ensure labelling compliance before goods arrive. They also advise on tariff quota management — many food imports such as cheese, butter, and certain meats are subject to tariff rate quotas that offer lower duty rates up to a set volume, after which significantly higher rates apply.