Shipping seeds to Australia? The OSU Seed Laboratory can help you!

australiaAustralia is an important market for seeds produced in Oregon and the USA. If your seed is headed for Australia, it is important to know their requirements and how the OSU Seed Laboratory can help you.

What does Australia require?

  • Australia accepts test reports from ISTA accredited laboratories that are approved by AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service). Otherwise, the shipment is held at the port for quarantine until it is sampled, tested and evaluated for acceptance or rejection. This creates delays. Additionally, if the lot is rejected, you are required to re-clean it or ship it back, which would result in significant losses.
  • If Glyceria spp. are found in Oregon grass seeds, the Glyceria is ploidy tested by flow cytometry or PCR to further specify because G. declinata is acceptable and other Glyceria spp. are not. (See BICON import conditions for more information.)

How can the OSU Seed Lab help you?

The OSU Seed Laboratory is ISTA accredited and AQIS approved and can issue ISTA certificates and analysis reports that are accepted by AQIS. (See BICON for more information.)

If Glyceria spp. seeds are found, knowing that your seed is headed for Australia, the OSU Seed Laboratory can quickly proceed to test the Glyceria by flow cytometry.

Australia requires a special classification scheme for reporting purity results. Whether you need an ISTA Orange Certificate, ISTA Blue Certificate, or OSU analysis report, the test results will be classified according to Australia's requirements.

The OSU Seed Laboratory can issue ISTA Orange and Blue certificates or standard OSU analysis reports on the samples, depending on customer requirements and the species being tested. The sampling must be done by an authorized ISTA sampler regardless of which type of report is requested. Please contact us if you have questions.

Delivery of reports?

ISTA Certificates are mailed to the customer. Standard OSU analysis reports are provided via our website or are mailed.

Our hope is that these seed testing and reporting services help you meet the requirements of your customers and Australian authorities.