What is a transitional facility?
Transitional facilities are approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to receive containers and goods that may pose a biosecurity risk. Goods or containers may need to be inspected or treated at the facility before they can be cleared for entry into New Zealand.
A transitional facility may be approved to hold, inspect, treat, identify, or destroy and dispose of uncleared risk goods. In practical terms, a TF is the controlled environment where imported risk goods sit between arriving at the border and receiving their biosecurity clearance — the buffer that stops unwanted pests and diseases from slipping into the country.
A transitional facility is not just a warehouse. It is an MPI-approved site, operating under a facility standard, where uncleared imported goods are managed under biosecurity controls until MPI clearance is granted.
What goes through a transitional facility?
MPI lists the goods that transitional facilities can be approved to handle, including:
- air and sea containers
- agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines
- animals and animal products
- biologicals
- food products
- plants and plant products
- other organisms
- used machinery or vehicles
- wood and wood products
The most common transitional facilities are those that receive sea and air containers — but the same framework covers cold stores, container terminals, importers of used machinery, and many other operations across the supply chain.
Transitional, containment, and quarantine — what's the difference?
MPI approves three broad types of border facility, and the type you need depends on what you are importing:
- Transitional facility — for receiving containers and goods that may pose a biosecurity risk, so they can be held, inspected, or treated before clearance.
- Containment facility — for holding organisms that must never establish in New Zealand. Zoos are containment facilities, as are some laboratories that import microorganisms for testing.
- Post-entry quarantine (PEQ) facility — for holding plants or live animals that could carry pests or unwanted organisms, until they are assessed and cleared.
Some operations need approval for more than one type of facility. This article focuses on transitional facilities, which are by far the most common and the ones most New Zealand importers and logistics businesses deal with.
Who must be involved: facility operator and accredited person
Every transitional facility must have an MPI-approved facility operator. The operator is responsible for ensuring the facility meets its biosecurity obligations day to day.
If the facility receives sea or air containers, an MPI-approved Accredited Person must also be available to check containers. MPI's requirements are specific:
- An accredited person, approved by MPI, must be available to check containers.
- Accredited persons must have completed and passed a basic container biosecurity awareness course.
- One person can be both the accredited person and the facility operator.
If you receive containers, you need someone qualified on site who can open up, inspect, and make the call on biosecurity risk — and they must hold current MPI training to do it. That person is your Accredited Person.
Transitional Facility Health & Safety Training — Online
Staff working in and around a transitional facility need to understand both biosecurity and how to work safely with MPI requirements. Our online course is built for exactly that.
Start Training View All CoursesWhat the standards require
Transitional facilities operate under MPI's facility standards and import health standards. A facility operator must meet:
- General requirements that apply to all transitional facilities — set out in the Transitional Facilities for General Uncleared Risk Goods (TFGEN) facility standard. Parts 2 and 3 of TFGEN are the starting point for understanding your responsibilities.
- Requirements for specific facility types — separate facility standards apply to facilities that handle particular goods, such as animal products, biological products, or cats and dogs.
- Requirements for the goods being imported — set out in import health standards, such as the Sea Containers from All Countries (SEACO) and Air Containers from All Countries standards.
If the facility handles food or food-related products, the operator must also meet requirements under the Food Act 2014.
Operator responsibilities and MPI verification visits
Facility operators are responsible for ensuring their operating procedures are designed and implemented to manage compliance with biosecurity requirements. This is an active, ongoing duty — not a one-off sign-off at approval.
MPI carries out verification visits to check that operators are meeting the requirements in TFGEN and other relevant regulations. The frequency of these visits is based on a facility's previous performance, its biosecurity risk, and the complexity of its operation. Visits may be notified in advance or completely unannounced, and the operator is expected to be present to provide evidence of compliance. There is a charge for verification visits.
Falling short of TFGEN or your facility standard can lead to infringement offences and, in serious cases, the loss of approved transitional facility status. Keeping procedures current and staff trained is the most reliable way to stay on the right side of an MPI verification visit.
Staff, site access, and day-to-day compliance
A transitional facility is only as compliant as the people working in it. Everyone on site — staff, drivers, contractors, and visitors — interacts with biosecurity controls, and operators need a reliable way to know who is on site, that they are inducted, and that they understand the rules before they start work.
That's where two things matter most: training and access control. Staff need biosecurity and health-and-safety training appropriate to their role, and operators benefit from a clear system for managing who can access the facility. We cover the access side in detail in our guide to site access management for transitional facilities.
A transitional facility is an MPI-approved, standard-bound site for managing uncleared imported goods. Running one means having an approved facility operator, an accredited person for containers, compliant procedures under TFGEN, trained staff, and the ability to satisfy an MPI verification visit at any time.
Multi-site Transitional Facility (MTF) System
Importers who bring in low-risk sea containers, and who don't want to operate their own transitional facility, can apply for approval of a Multi-site Transitional Facility (MTF) System. This allows containers to be delivered to their business, subject to certain conditions. An MTF System can be a practical option for businesses that receive containers but don't have the scale to justify a full standalone TF.
How to get a transitional facility approved
To get approval to run a transitional facility, MPI requires that you:
- Have an MPI-approved facility operator — every TF must have one.
- Have an MPI-approved accredited person available — required if you're receiving sea or air containers.
- Ensure all accredited persons have passed their training requirements — including the basic container biosecurity awareness course.
- Submit a completed application form to MPI for assessment.
For the official forms, facility standards, fees, and the full application process, the authoritative source is the Ministry for Primary Industries' guidance on transitional and containment facilities for border clearance.