A review of Australia's quarantine procedures has been undertaken after historic and valuable plant specimens from France were destroyed by biosecurity officers.

Key points: A collection of rare flowering plants from France was incinerated by biosecurity officers in March

A collection of rare flowering plants from France was incinerated by biosecurity officers in March Government spokesperson says material was destroyed because documents did not comply

Government spokesperson says material was destroyed because documents did not comply Federal Department of Agriculture says plants should not have been destroyed

In March, a collection of rare flowering plants sent by the Museum of Natural History in Paris to Queensland's herbarium in Brisbane was incinerated.

Michelle Waycott, who chairs the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, said the pressed plant specimens dated back to the mid-1800s.

"They were the first type specimens collected of a species," she said.

"That would be the equivalent of material collected in the Flinders expedition, going and then destroying those.

"So literally irreplaceable collections and of high historic and scientific value."

Ms Waycott said it was the second similar incident in a matter of weeks.

It is understood a collection of lichen specimens from New Zealand's Allan Herbarium destined for the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra was also recently destroyed by biosecurity officers.

"The New Zealand herbaria have now banned sending any specimens to Australia," Ms Waycott said.

She said the French herbarium was also "very unhappy" with the loss of their collection.

"I suspect that they're in the process of banning sending specimens to Australia now," she said.

"They haven't said that officially though, but that would certainly be my response if it was my herbarium this had happened to."

Material destroyed because documents did not comply

The destroyed sample would have looked similar to the Australian-collected Lagenophora specimen. ( Supplied )

It is common practice for herbaria around the world to swap material to help identify and understand plant species.

"We rely on sharing specimens from all over the world to be able to do our science," Ms Waycott said.

"So it may have a major impact on our ability to do our research.

"The fact that it happened twice in the space of a couple of weeks and that they were two separate ports, two separate entry points has us very concerned."

The Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, which controls Australian biosecurity, declined a request for an interview.

However, in a written response, a spokesperson said the material from France which arrived in January was destroyed because the documents it came with did not comply with Australia's import conditions.

"The accompanying documents did not disclose required information — such as a listing of the specimens, botanical nomenclature, whether the goods were preserved or not."

The department said the recipient, the Queensland Herbarium, would provide further documentation, but nothing was received until early March after a mix-up over email addresses.

When it did arrive, the additional paperwork also failed to meet Australian biosecurity import requirements and the department said it requested more information.

It was during this period that the collection was incinerated.

'Herbarium specimens are not without biosecurity risk'

While the department said it held the goods for 46 days longer than required, it also said the plants should not have been destroyed when the matter was not resolved.

"The department acknowledges the significant value as a botanical reference collection," a spokesperson said.

"[It] concedes that destruction of the specimens should not have proceeded while communication between the department and the intended recipient was ongoing."

A review of the incident has since been carried out by senior staff, with the department implementing several changes to its procedures to improve communication and safeguard items where negotiations are ongoing.

It was meeting with representatives of Australia's herbaria on Monday to discuss the incident and look at ways to improve compliance with biosecurity rules.

"Herbarium specimens are not without biosecurity risk," the department's spokesperson said.

"They can include soil and other items that present a pest and disease risk to Australia."

The department told the ABC it was unaware of the second case involving the destruction of specimens from New Zealand and is investigating the matter.