Proposed changes to the Plant Export Requirement: MPI Technical Standard: Phytosanitary Certificates

Update: 18 September 2026

Publication of the latest standard, summary of key amendments, and summary of submissions released

Following this consultation, MPI has published the latest plant export requirement, the MPI Technical Standard: Phytosanitary Certificates 2026 [PDF, 641 KB]

Alongside the updated standard, MPI published a summary of key amendments document to assist certificate requestors and users, MPI Approved Organisations, and Independent Verification Agencies.

MPI has also published a summary document of the submissions received during this consultation.

Summary of key amendments [PDF, 284 KB]

Summary of submissions [PDF, 501 KB]

MPI would like to thank everyone who provided feedback on the proposed standard.

Consultation background

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) consulted on proposed changes to an existing plant export requirement, the MPI Technical Standard: Phytosanitary Certificates [PDF, 330 KB]

This was part of the ongoing work to strengthen the MPI plant export phytosanitary assurance system.

This consultation opened on 20 October and closed at 5pm on 28 November 2025.

Summary of what was proposed and why

MPI had reviewed the standard, proposed some changes designed to make it easier for users to follow requirements. They included:

amending the flow of information to make it easier to read and find relevant information
adding more guidance and detail to the requirements to ensure they are well understood
future-proofing the standard as much as possible by broadening terminology
requiring exporters (whether requesting the certificates themselves or via another organisation) to register with MPI for access to the electronic certification system. This change aligns with new functionality being introduced in MPI Trade Certification, which will enable enhanced user management and allow exporters to have greater control over who can view and submit requests on their behalf. (Note that this change will not be introduced in ePhyto).

We proposed these changes to the requirements to offer clarity and provide more guidance. These changes were intended to help industry more efficiently obtain and use phytosanitary certification while still meeting MPI's requirements. While the standard may look different, the requirements largely remain the same.

Consultation document

Proposed updates to the MPI Plant Export Requirement: MPI Technical Standard: Phytosanitary Certificates [PDF, 702 KB]

Note: due to the number of amendments, the proposed changes to the requirements were not highlighted in yellow.

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