Biosecurity breach
A logistics company based in Melbourne has over AUD $24M in revenue and 124 staff members.
The logistics company received correspondence from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) which alleged that they have breached section 428 of the Biosecurity Act 2015. The initial letter alleged that six consignments of machinery, subject to biosecurity control, were being stored outside of the biosecurity storage area on two different occasions. The penalties for these breaches were 5 years imprisonment or an AUD $63,000 fine (or both) for an individual, and up to AUD $315,000 fine for a company.
Claim
The DAWR carried out an investigation into the alleged breaches by speaking with staff members and conducting a review of the logistics company’s documentation and CCTV footage. The DAWR found that the storage of imported equipment was outside of the company’s premises prior to quarantine cleaning and subsequently advised that a hearing would take place once the facts have been determined.
The logistics company advised that although they may have stored equipment for quarantine processing outside the designated area, they had previously applied for an expansion of the approved area several months ago. Despite the current action, the DAWR approved an enlarged area for the storage of quarantined equipment to mitigate potential exposures of this kind in the future.
The company has a logistics insurance policy in place, which was the primary policy to respond. However, CFC also contributed approximately AUD $50,000 to the investigation costs under the D&O policy.
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Legal disclaimer: This example is intended for illustrative purposes only and not intended to address the circumstances of any particular insured. Each claim submitted to CFC by an insured is based on the terms and conditions of the coverage provided to that particular insured and the facts and circumstances relating to a particular claim.
