Accredited persons
Facilities receiving containers must have:
- an MPI-approved facility operator
- at least one trained, accredited person (AP).
The facility operator is the person who will have overall responsibility for the facility.
Facilities receiving containers (air freight and/or sea containers) must also have enough accredited persons (APs) available to check containers and goods. Accredited persons are responsible for inspecting containers, supervising their unpacking, and containing any biosecurity risks found.
Airports and accredited persons
Airports receiving air containers conveying international baggage must have trained accredited persons actively supervising the unloading of baggage from air containers.
The airport or airline service provider may choose to have an MPI-approved facility operator.
Getting an accredited person approved
Required documents
- provide a copy of your current Accredited Persons training certificate.
This confirms you have completed and passed the biosecurity training course, MPI expects an accredited person to ensure they maintain a good understanding of biosecurity risk awareness.
Accredited person application form [DOCX, 92 KB]
Other things to consider
Review the list of relevant standards
Accredited person responsibilities and requirements are outlined in the relevant container standard and the Biosecurity Act.
Container standard for sea containers [PDF, 986 KB]
Container standard for air containers [PDF, 508 KB]
Biosecurity Act 1993 – NZ Legislation website
Check training requirements
To become an accredited person, you must complete and pass an MPI-approved training course. The course outlines what to do when checking a container for biosecurity risks and MPI reporting requirements.
For information on locations and dates of training courses contact one of the approved training providers.
Find an accredited person training provider
What happens next?
Only completed applications can be processed. The approval process may take up to 6 weeks.
If your application is incomplete or incorrect, the biosecurity support team will be in touch to request any missing information.
Your application will be on hold while we wait for that information. Once processed, you will receive an email with Real Me log in information to enable you to access the Containers Checks Portal (CCP).
Container Checks Portal user manual [PDF, 1.3 MB]
Who to contact at MPI
If you have any questions that you need to talk through with our biosecurity team:
- email tfsupport@mpi.govt.nz
- freephone 0800 222 018 (Option 3)
