I am doing a paper for biology on biodiversity and need to know the
EXACT quarantine regulations for animals imported from Australia,
specifically reptiles. Any rules and regulations pertaining to animals
brought in to the US specifically from Australia would be helpful

According to the USDA
(http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/pet-info.html), the U.S. Department
of the Interior, Law Enforcement Division, Fish and Wildlife Services
is in charge of the importation of reptiles, fish, and endangered
species.

You might want to start with the FWS website on import/export rules here:
http://www.le.fws.gov/CommWildlifeImportExport.htm