The Biosecurity Fees can add up when entering Australia. Both New Zealand and Australia have strict rules. Here are a few suggestions I found helpful.
As posted on Noonsite, Biosecurity in Australia charges by the 15 minutes to inspect vessels. This includes cabinets, lockers, engine compartment, refrigeration, hull, wood, etc. The time of inspection is partly dependant on the owner(s) of the vessel making sure they have complied with documentation concerning maintenance and logbooks being kept up to date. Our inspection took less than 45 minutes. We have heard from officials in New Zealand and Australia of cruisers arriving without proper documentation or not being in compliance taking 2 hours or more.
Prior to setting sail for Australia we had to change port of arrival. Both ports sent arrival information including fees for incinerating trash on board. However, I am not sure if all entry ports provide this information but it is a good idea to ask. The entry port (marina) is responsible for separating the trash by type, bagging it and incinerating the trash. The fees are by the weight and type of rubbish. Typically the charge is by the kilogram or part thereof.
One of the suggestions listed by both New Zealand and Australian Biosecurity is to rid the vessel of as much rubbish as possible prior to sailing to those countries. They also suggest removing items not allowed to be imported like certain items made of natural materials. Rather than have items go through inspection and risk losing the items to the incinerator, I shipped home items made of natural materials that we wanted to keep (i.e. souvenirs).
In order to limit our trash onboard, I remove all the outer wrappings and put the food into reusable containers. That way we simply washed out the containers and have no trash onboard. Any leftover or unused food waste is biodegradable and is disposed of legally outside the waters of the country prior to entering. I hope this will help others planning to visit New Zealand and Australia.