The government is cracking down on visa holders who break Australia's biosecurity rules by importing plant and meat products into the country.
As stated by Andrew Giles, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural affairs:
"...if it is reasonably believed that there has been an attempt to conceal goods for the purpose of preventing those goods from being found", a visa can be cancelled.
While it may seem like an insignificant act to bring in a food treat from your home country, Australia has some of the strictest biosecurity & quarantine rules in the world. The country is free from many of the diseases, such as rabies and foot-and-mouth, which plague other regions. We plan to keep it that way.
All temporary visa holders are subject to the risk of an on-the-spot visa cancellation - including tourists, international students, working holiday makers, maritime crew and temporary work visa-holders.
We recommend that education agents notify clients of this rule prior to their departure for Australia. An innocent mistake can have very serious consequences.
