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Australia has launched its biggest biosecurity response in history to stop foot and mouth disease which is circulating in Indonesia from wiping out the nation's livestock industry.

From Saturday, all returning travellers from Indonesia must clean their shoes and walk over sanitation mats to prevent an outbreak that would decimate Australia's livestock.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced late on Friday the new biosecurity powers that "compel" travellers to sanitise their shoes when arriving at airports across Australia.

READ MORE: What is foot and mouth disease and can humans get it?

"I had been concerned about some rare reports that some return travellers were not doing the right thing when returning from Indonesia," Watt said in a statement.

"These zones strengthen and widen the powers of biosecurity officers to direct passengers to use foot mats and other biosecurity control measures such as the cleaning of shoes."

The creation of "biosecurity response zones" means biosecurity officers are now empowered to direct entire planeloads of people to undergo the sanitation measures.

The new powers came into effect from midnight without criticism from travellers.

"Obviously indicated I'd arrived from Indonesia and then went through, declared my footwear and they were taken, sterilised, returned to me and I was able to go on my way," one traveller said.

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While Australia remains virus-free, concerns are heightened after virus fragments were detected in pork in Melbourne and beef seized at Adelaide airport.

The federal government is facing growing pressure to slam the border shut to Indonesia to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease which could cost the economy up to $80 billion if there were to be an outbreak.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews is among those calling for the borders to be closed.

"This is not something that Labor can take a softly-softly, gently-gently approach," Andrews said.

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But the National Farmers' Federation CEO Tony Mahar said an unnecessary border closure could hurt an important trade relationship despite concerns over the disease decimating the nation's livestock sector.

"We don't want to do anything that would unnecessarily damage the relationship with them," he said.

Israeli police said on Friday they had placed a couple under house arrest, a day after a man attending a party at their villa died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool.

The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said.

They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them on Friday under "restrictive conditions of house arrest" for five days.

The incident happened during a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, 40 kilometres southeast of the city of Tel Aviv.

Mobile phone video from the scene shows floaties and water being sucked to the bottom, at the centre of the pool, as people sitting by the poolside shout in Hebrew.

A man is seen approaching the sinkhole, slips and is almost pulled in before he backs away.

The police said the deceased 30-year-old was found following a search mission in which Israeli police, emergency crews and the army took part.

Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing.