Diwali a time for gifts which are biosecurity aware

The Hon David Littleproud MP
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management
  • Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated on Saturday 14 November.
  • Gifts containing plant or animal material can bring increased biosecurity risks.
  • Alternative gift ideas that do not pose a biosecurity risk include fabric, gold or silver beads and coins, personalised photo items and artificial flowers.
  • Diwali, the ‘festival of lights’ is an exciting time for Hindus where customary gifts are exchanged across the world. It’s also a time of increased biosecurity risk as gifts containing plant and animal material may be sent to Australia.

    Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud asked Diwali gift givers to keep in mind Australia’s biosecurity conditions when mailing gifts.

    “I send my best wishes to all celebrating Diwali and take this opportunity to remind those sending gifts of the importance of Australia’s biosecurity,” Minister Littleproud said.

    “We are expecting to see more gifts arrive to Australia via mail this year due to travel restrictions preventing some loved ones from being together.

    “The ‘festival of lights’ is a time for celebration but these gifts could potentially carry serious biosecurity risks if they contain plant or animal material.

    “Our strict biosecurity system protects Australia from exotic pests and diseases and safeguards our $48 billion agriculture export industries.

    “Biosecurity risk items are either exported back to the sender or destroyed, to ensure they do not harm Australia’s agriculture or environment.

    “If you are expecting gifts this year, make sure you do your biosecurity research and help spread awareness of Australia’s biosecurity conditions with your family and friends.

    “This will help ensure gifts arrive on time – you will also be helping safeguard Australia from a range of deadly biosecurity pest and disease risks.

    “We all have a role to play in preventing pests and diseases from arriving and establishing in Australia, and maintaining our biosecurity is a gift in itself for all Australians.”

    Australia has recently strengthened import requirements on a range of plant products to address the risk of khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium), a major threat to our grains industry, entering Australia.

    High-risk plant products, include untreated rice, chickpeas, seeds and lentils.

    Diwali items that are considered a biosecurity risk include:

    • Indian sweets (mithai) such as barfi, ras malai and pedas
    • products containing dairy
    • fresh and dried fruit; nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and tea
    • plants, flowers and plant material.

    /Public Release. View in full here.