The Department of Agriculture's Chris Locke said the massive growth in online shopping had opened new pathways for illegal plants, seeds and animals.
“We’re starting to see an increase in non-compliant behaviour such as smuggling and false declarations ... or just deliberate misdeclarations of cargo,” he told a national forum in Canberra on April 5.
Dr Locke described the 38-tonne seizure on April 3 in Sydney of risk products, which included frog and turtle meat, as at the extreme end of biosecurity work.
He said biosecurity officers needed to be on their best game in the current environment.
"We need to be faster at detecting and responding to incursions. We need the technologies and systems to increase our efficiency," he told the audience.
“The broader environment is really constantly shifting, and there’s always a new threat, responses get more complex and the risks rarely go away.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told the conference cracks in Australia's biosecurity system had appeared recently.
“Over the last few years ... we have started to see some cracks in our national biosecurity wall,” Senator Watt said.
“It is clear to me ... that our biosecurity system is under more strain than ever before.
“These biosecurity risks that we face are growing and they’re increasing in complexity, driven by factors such as climate change, increasing trade and travel and changes in land use.”
Australia’s chief veterinary officer Mark Schipp described Indonesia’s declaration of foot and mouth disease as endemic on April 4 as concerning.
“This is something that Australia needs to learn to live with and to anticipate that this threat is only going to be present and indeed perhaps advancing closer,’’ Dr Schipp said.
But he said Australia had anticipated the disease would become endemic in Indonesia, as it was already widespread across the archipelago when detected.
When asked to describe the challenges facing Australia’s biosecurity system, conference participants including industry, government and community stakeholders described it as “vulnerable” and “overwhelmed”.
Funding was also listed high as a concern.
Australian chief plant protection officer Gabrielle Vivian-Smith said she wanted to see stronger detection technologies and more automation for the mail system over the next five years.
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