Emergency plant pests

Emergency plant pests (EPPs) are defined as those that meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • known exotic plant pest, the economic consequences of an incident of which would be economically or otherwise harmful for Australia, and for which it is considered to be in the regional or national interest to be free of the plant pest
  • variant form of an established plant pest which can be distinguished by appropriate investigative and diagnostic methods, and which if established in Australia, would have a regional or national impact
  • serious plant pest of unknown or uncertain origin which may, on the evidence available at the time, be an entirely new plant pest, and which if established in Australia would have an adverse economic impact regionally and or nationally
  • plant pest already found in Australia that:
    • is restricted to a defined area through the use of regulatory measures intended to prevent further spread of the pest out of the defined area or into an endangered area; and
    • has been detected outside the defined area; and
    • is not a native of Australia; and
    • is not the subject of any instrument for management which is agreed to be effective risk mitigation and management at a national level; and
    • is considered likely to have an adverse economic impact such that an emergency response is required to prevent an incident of regional and national importance.

Related topics

Reporting suspect pests
Pest categorisation