The Australian government will ease strict biosecurity measures slapped on Indonesian travellers two years ago with the number of reported foot-and-mouth cases in that country having "stabilised".
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Australia's cattle industry has been on high alert since around 12,000 daily infections were being reported across Indonesia at the height of the initial outbreak in mid-May 2022, however the number has since fallen to around 25 per day.
Federal government economists have put the costs of an FMD outbreak in Australia at $80 billion.
The scaling down of strict biosecurity measures from June 4 will bring those travellers arriving from Indonesia in line with the 70 other countries where FMD is present.
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry biosecurity, operations and compliance deputy secretary Justine Saunders said while FMD case in Indonesia have "stabilised", Australia would continue to support the response of near neighbours and close trading partners to animal disease pressures.
"As a result of revised scientific risk assessments, the department will remove some of the biosecurity measures at the Australian border that have applied to travellers from Indonesia since the initial FMD outbreak in mid-2022," she said.
"Travellers arriving from Indonesia will now be subject to the same biosecurity controls as people arriving from any other country where FMD is present.
"Australia remains free from FMD thanks to our robust biosecurity system, effective management in Indonesia and the continued vigilance of incoming travellers."
While some measures like sanitation foot mats will no longer be used for flights arriving from Indonesia, other heightened biosecurity protection measures will be kept for flights from all countries.
This includes additional biosecurity risk detection dogs, screening with 2D x-ray capability and trials with enhanced 3D x-rays, along with real-time risk assessment by Australian biosecurity officers at the border.
The Australian Government has provided four million vaccine doses and training for more than 100 Indonesian quarantine officers through the Biosecurity Training Centre at Charles Sturt University.
FMD is transmitted by contact with material from an infected animal - milk, semen, meat or virus particles traveling on individuals.
