ATTACHMEN T 1  
 
HEALTH CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR FRESHWATER 
ORNAMENTAL FINFISH IMPORTED INTO AUSTRALIA  
 
1. Gener al r equir em ents  
a. Each consignment of freshwater ornamental finfish must be accompanied by a health certificate, written in English and, where  necessary, in a language understood by the 
certifying individual. The certifying individual must be authorised by the Competent 
Authority of the exporting country, have an appropriate knowledge of fish health and 
the export premises and attest that:  
 
• the fish in the consignment have been inspected within 7 days prior to export and 
show no clinical signs of infectious disease or pests,  
• the export premises is currently approved for export to Australia,  
• the fish being held at the export premises exhibit no signs of significant infectious 
disease or pests and are sourced from populations not associated with any 
significant disease or pests within the previous 6 months,  
• all fish in the consignment have been in premises approved for export of freshwater 
finfish  to Australia for the 14 days prior to export,   
• the fish have not been kept in water in common with farmed foodfish (fish farmed for human consumption including recreational fishing) or koi carp, and  
• adequate safeguards are in place to maintain certified fish health status until export.  
 b. Certification must be based on a system of inspection, acceptable to the Competent 
Authority of the country of export, for it to be satisfied that there is no significant disease or pest problem in the export premises at the time of certification. The 
Comp etent Authority must also be satisfied that the premises is maintained at the 
standards required for approval for export of freshwater ornamental finfish to Australia (see Appendix 1).  
 
2. Additional requirements for goldfish 
a. Each consignment of goldfish  (Carassius auratus ) must be accompanied by a health 
certificate stating that: 
 
• the goldfish originate  from a country, zone or export premises (the population) 
determined to be free from spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) and Aeromonas 
salmonicida (other t h an  g oldfish  ul cer di sease strains) based on  a prog ram of  
monitoring and surveillance acceptable to the Competent Authority and consistent with criteria for health certification stated in Section 2(b) below;  
 
• the goldfish are exported  from a country, zone  or export premises determined to be 
free from spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) and Aeromonas salmonicida (other 
than goldfish ulcer disease strains) based on a program of monitoring and 
surveillance acceptable to the Competent Authority, and consisten t with criteria for 
health certification stated in Section 2(b) below; and  
 
• all goldfish in the consignment have been treated with an effective parasiticide 
(e.g. trichlorfon, formaldehyde, sodium chloride) during the 7 days prior to export 
to Australia to  eliminate infestation by the gill flukes Dactylogyrus vastator  and D. 
extensus.    
b. Criteria for health certification: 
 
• Spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV): This certification must be based on 
negative test results during the two years prior to date of certification. The fish 
population from which the goldfish originate must be tested for SVCV using virus isolation and identification methods as described in the OIE ‘ Diagnostic Manual 
for Aquatic Animal Diseases ’. The frequency of testing and sample size are as 
stated below.  
 
• Aeromonas salmonicida : This certification must be based on negative test results 
during the two years prior to date of certification. The fish in the population from 
which the goldfish originate must be tested for A. salmonicida  using  standard 
bacteriological methods. Tissues tested should include skin lesions (if present), kidney, liver and spleen. Testing must be based on internationally accepted 
methods of isolation, culture and identification. The frequency of testing and sa mp le s i ze are as stated below.  
 
c. Certification of freedom from specified disease agents or pests  applies to the country, 
zone or export premises from which fish are exported to Australia. If the fish originated from a country other than the exporting country withi n 6 months of export, certification 
attesting to the health of the source fish population must accompany all shipments.  
 
d. Countries, zones or premises declared free or in the process of establishing freedom 
from specified disease agents or pests,  must take adequate precautions to prevent 
introduction of the disease agent or pest into the country, zone or premises, including 
via infected fish or water.  
 
e. Certification for SVCV and A. salmonicida must be based on a minimum testing 
frequency of twice a year (at approximately 6 month intervals) for each of the previous 2 years prior to issuing of the certificate. The number of fish sampled must ensure a 95% confidence level of disease agent/pest detection in a source fish population with an 
agent prevalence of  2%.  The population size is defined as the number of fish of the 
same species that share a common water supply and originate from the same broodstock.  
 
f. After two years of surveillance with laboratory tests and in the absence of suspect 
clinical signs or suspec t or positive test results, twice yearly testing must continue but 
the sample size at each inspection may be reduced to 30 fish of the species being exported (including broodfish when available), provided that all introductions of new 
fish to the populatio n are sourced from fish populations that meet an equivalent or 
superior health standard.