Can I take chocolate to Australia?

Australia has recently changed the wording on the Incoming Passenger Card, and no longer even ask if you are carrying “Food” as they used to – but instead of certain types of listed food.

The questions now ask if you are bringing in :

6 – Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegetables?

7 – Grains, seeds, bulbs, straw, nuts, plants, parts of plants, traditional
medicines or herbs, wooden articles?

8 – Animals, parts of animals, animal products including equipment, pet food,
eggs, biologicals, specimens, birds, fish, insects, shells, bee products?

Previously question 6 included the word “Food”, but as of last month this reference is gone.

The question then becomes is chocolate “dairy” as most chocolate contains dairy products – but in general I think the answer to that would be no.

Certainly the immigrations officer I dealt with last week told me that the chocolates I was bringing in did NOT need to be declared – where previously they would have had to be declared, but would have been let through without any issues.

You can find a copy of the latest Incoming Passenger Form here.

Chocolate (and biscuits/cookies) are OK!

A travel blogger actually emailed the Australian Customs to see what the case was, and got a response:

Thank you for your enquiry about bringing biscuits and chocolates into > Australia as part of your personal luggage.

Cooked cakes, including cakes containing custard or dairy based fillings that have been cooked with the cake (excluding cheesecakes,
mooncakes, dairy puddings, vanilla slices or Dulce de Leche), bread
and shelf stable biscuits are allowed into Australia as part of your
personal baggage from any country provided the items do not require
refrigeration to maintain quality. Items that do not meet these import
conditions must be re-exported from Australia or destroyed. Re-export
of the items must be paid for by the importer.

Cakes decorated with material such as fresh flowers, leaves, fruits or raw nuts that were not cooked with the cake may need to have
the flowers, leaves, fruits or nuts removed. Alternatively, cakes
decorated with prohibited fresh flowers, leaves, fruits or raw nuts
that were not cooked with the cake must be re-exported or destroyed.
Re-export must be paid for by the importer.

To find the import conditions for bringing cheesecakes, dairy puddings or vanilla slices into Australia, you may consult Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) at https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0. This
database lists the Quarantine conditions under which various
commodities may be brought into Australia. Using the ICON search
facility, enter ‘Dairy’ into the ‘Commodity’ field, insert the country
of manufacture in the ‘From country’ field and leave ‘All End Uses’ in
the ‘For end-use’ field. Then, click “search” and the database will
return the results. If an AQIS Import Permit is required, or if any
other specific conditions apply, ICON will specify this.

The information available on ICON is the same information that AQIS’s clearing officers use when inspecting and clearing goods
arriving into the country. I recommend that you refer to this database
regularly to keep up to date with any import condition changes by
AQIS.

Confectionery (excluding Indian milk-based desserts and sweets) is permitted into Australia providing the items are free of contaminants
such as live insects. Confectionery includes toffees, chocolate,
fudge, boiled sweets, peppermints, marshmallows, liquorice, etc. It
does not include liquid dairy desserts, spreads or drinks.

Once passengers arrive in Australia, they are required to complete an Incoming Passenger Card (IPC). On the IPC, they must declare all
items of food, animal or plant origin as well as any other articles
that are covered on the card (e.g. medicines, wooden articles) – these
items are only examples illustrating the types of items that must be
declared under each category. All items of food, animal or plant
origin must be declared on the IPC for the purpose of inspection by an
Australian Quarantine Inspector.

After passengers have collected their luggage, they will be directed to a Quarantine Officer who will inspect any declared items
and inspect and/or x-ray any remaining luggage before they depart the
international arrivals area.

For further information on what goods can or cannot be brought into Australia, you may visit our website at www.daff.gov.au/aqis or
our Import Conditions database (ICON) at www.aqis.gov.au/icon. This
database lists the Quarantine conditions under which various
commodities may be brought into Australia. Using the ICON search
facility, enter the item into the ‘Commodity’ field, insert the
country of manufacture or origin in the ‘From country’ field and leave
‘All End Uses’ in the ‘For end-use’ field. Then, click “search” and
the database will return the results. If an AQIS Import Permit is
required, or if any other specific conditions apply, ICON will specify
this.

The information available on ICON is the same information that AQIS’s clearing officers use when inspecting and clearing goods
arriving into the country. I recommend that you refer to this database
regularly to keep up to date with any import condition changes by
AQIS.

In addition, just last month I brought boxed chocolates and shortbread from NZ to Australia, and declared them, and had zero problems.