Steps to get a transitional or containment facility approved
Transitional and containment facilities must meet standards and get MPI approval. Find out what you need to do to get a facility approved.
Follow the steps
Facilities covered by this processThis process covers steps to get a transitional or containment facility approved to receive goods that aren't in containers. If you want approval for a facility that can accept air and sea containers, there is a different process to follow (some facilities may need both processes).
Answer these questions to find out if you're ready to apply
|1||Have you found the right facility standard for the goods you plan to import?||Review the list of facility standards
Check the scope in the facility standards to decide which one applies to your facility.
|2||Have you assessed your site against the facility standard?||
Read the requirements in the facility standard. Assess your site and fix any non-compliances.
Contact your local MPI office for advice.
Have you prepared an operating manual?
Document how your facility meets the requirements in the relevant facility standard.
We recommend you develop operating procedures based on ISO 9001.
Have you checked the costs of applying and ongoing approval?
|Check the Biosecurity (Costs) Amendment Regulations 2015|
Note: You will be charged for the costs and time involved processing your transitional facility application whether or not it's approved. It's in your best interests to ensure your application is complete before you send it to us.
When you can answer 'yes' to all 4 questions, you're ready to start making your application. You can proceed to Step 2
Contact your local biosecurity inspector for information on setting up a facility before applying for approval.
You can also request a facility approvals information pack from the national facilities team.
Facility approval costs
You'll be charged a minimum of:
- $887.70 (+GST) for processing an approval of a facility and facility operator
- $887.70 (+GST) for processing an approval of a change of operator.
You'll be charged:
- $102.27 (+GST) per hour for inspection and auditing services
- an annual fee of $298.05 (+GST) for an approved facility.
Complete the required forms
You will need to complete an Application for approval of an MPI transitional or containment facility and/or operator regardless of your type of transitional or containment facility.
Additional documentation that you will need to send with your application will depend on whether you are applying for:
- approval of a new facility
- a change in approval (change in facility location or type of goods)
- a change of ownership or name of a facility.
Checklist of other required documentation
The application for approval form has a checklist of other required documentation, with links to downloadable forms. Use the checklist to make sure you have prepared all the required documents.
Provide facility operator details
Every facility must have an approved operator who has overall responsibility for the facility.
Only operators of transitional facilities approved to the Standard for General Transitional Facilities for Uncleared Goods and the Post-entry Quarantine for Plants Facility Standard must complete a training course to be an approved operator.
You will need to provide the following operator details with your application for facility approval:
- copy of the operator certificate of training, if required
- operator's residential address, country of birth and phone number
- copy of operator's photo identification (such as driver's licence or passport).
Send your completed documentation to:
- your local inspector
- the national facilities approvals team (cc your local inspector) – email to email@example.com
What happens next?
Only completed applications can be processed. Applications with all the required information will be placed into the queue for processing. The approval process can take up to 6 weeks.
MPI will contact you to organise a site visit. Following completion of any recommended actions, you will be notified whether your facility has been approved or not.
If you don't provide everything we need, we will contact you to request the missing information. We won't start processing your application until we receive the remaining information.
You will need to provide the remaining documentation to MPI within 10 working days from the request from MPI.
If you don't provide everything we need, we'll decline your application and tell you why. You'll need to re-submit the entire application.
Who to contact
To send an application for approval, change of approval, or to get advice about a facility, contact the national facilities team:
To talk to MPI about facility approvals:
- call 0800 22 20 18 (Option 5).
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The text passage provides a detailed guide on the steps required to get a transitional or containment facility approved, including the costs and the application process. It does not contain any mathematical questions or calculations.
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Given a text passage, determine:
    1. If it contains a mathematical question (including word problems or calculations)
    2. If an answer to that mathematical question is provided in the text

First, describe the content structure you found in 1-2 sentences.

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TYPE: <one of the following values>
- NO_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS_WITH_ANSWERS
system
Steps to get a transitional or containment facility approved
Transitional and containment facilities must meet standards and get MPI approval. Find out what you need to do to get a facility approved.
Follow the steps
Facilities covered by this processThis process covers steps to get a transitional or containment facility approved to receive goods that aren't in containers. If you want approval for a facility that can accept air and sea containers, there is a different process to follow (some facilities may need both processes).
Answer these questions to find out if you're ready to apply
|1||Have you found the right facility standard for the goods you plan to import?||Review the list of facility standards
Check the scope in the facility standards to decide which one applies to your facility.
|2||Have you assessed your site against the facility standard?||
Read the requirements in the facility standard. Assess your site and fix any non-compliances.
Contact your local MPI office for advice.
Have you prepared an operating manual?
Document how your facility meets the requirements in the relevant facility standard.
We recommend you develop operating procedures based on ISO 9001.
Have you checked the costs of applying and ongoing approval?
|Check the Biosecurity (Costs) Amendment Regulations 2015|
Note: You will be charged for the costs and time involved processing your transitional facility application whether or not it's approved. It's in your best interests to ensure your application is complete before you send it to us.
When you can answer 'yes' to all 4 questions, you're ready to start making your application. You can proceed to Step 2
Contact your local biosecurity inspector for information on setting up a facility before applying for approval.
You can also request a facility approvals information pack from the national facilities team.
Facility approval costs
You'll be charged a minimum of:
- $887.70 (+GST) for processing an approval of a facility and facility operator
- $887.70 (+GST) for processing an approval of a change of operator.
You'll be charged:
- $102.27 (+GST) per hour for inspection and auditing services
- an annual fee of $298.05 (+GST) for an approved facility.
Complete the required forms
You will need to complete an Application for approval of an MPI transitional or containment facility and/or operator regardless of your type of transitional or containment facility.
Additional documentation that you will need to send with your application will depend on whether you are applying for:
- approval of a new facility
- a change in approval (change in facility location or type of goods)
- a change of ownership or name of a facility.
Checklist of other required documentation
The application for approval form has a checklist of other required documentation, with links to downloadable forms. Use the checklist to make sure you have prepared all the required documents.
Provide facility operator details
Every facility must have an approved operator who has overall responsibility for the facility.
Only operators of transitional facilities approved to the Standard for General Transitional Facilities for Uncleared Goods and the Post-entry Quarantine for Plants Facility Standard must complete a training course to be an approved operator.
You will need to provide the following operator details with your application for facility approval:
- copy of the operator certificate of training, if required
- operator's residential address, country of birth and phone number
- copy of operator's photo identification (such as driver's licence or passport).
Send your completed documentation to:
- your local inspector
- the national facilities approvals team (cc your local inspector) – email to email@example.com
What happens next?
Only completed applications can be processed. Applications with all the required information will be placed into the queue for processing. The approval process can take up to 6 weeks.
MPI will contact you to organise a site visit. Following completion of any recommended actions, you will be notified whether your facility has been approved or not.
If you don't provide everything we need, we will contact you to request the missing information. We won't start processing your application until we receive the remaining information.
You will need to provide the remaining documentation to MPI within 10 working days from the request from MPI.
If you don't provide everything we need, we'll decline your application and tell you why. You'll need to re-submit the entire application.
Who to contact
To send an application for approval, change of approval, or to get advice about a facility, contact the national facilities team:
To talk to MPI about facility approvals:
- call 0800 22 20 18 (Option 5).
Has this been useful? Give us your feedback
user
The text passage provides a detailed guide on the steps required to get a transitional or containment facility approved, including the costs and the application process. It does not contain any mathematical questions or calculations.

TYPE: NO_QUESTION