EPPRD
FAQs
1. What is the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed?
The Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) is a formal legally binding agreement between Plant Health Australia (PHA), the Australian Government, all state and territory governments and plant industry signatories (a list of signatories is shown below in Question 2). This agreement covers the management and funding arrangements of responses to Emergency Plant Pest (EPP) Incidents.
The EPPRD came into effect on the 26 October 2005, once PHA and all Government Parties signed.
The EPPRD replaces previous informal arrangements and provides a recognised role for Affected Industry Parties to participate in EPP responses, and assume a greater responsibility in decision making. The EPPRD is the plant sector equivalent of the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA) which operates in the animal (livestock) sector.
2. What is an Emergency Plant Pest?
For a pest to be classified as an EPP, it must either be listed in Schedule 13 of the EPPRD, or be determined by the Categorisation Group (see Question 11) or National Management Group (NMG; see Question 13) to be of potential national significance and meet at least one of the criteria below:
- A known exotic pest
- A variant form of an established plant pest
- A previously unknown pest
- A confined or contained pest
3. What are the benefits of the EPPRD?
The most substantial benefit is the ability to respond quickly and effectively to an EPP Incident, while minimising the uncertainty over management and funding arrangements.
Other significant benefits are:
- A consistent and agreed national approach for managing EPP incursions
- Industry is directly involved in decision making about mounting and managing an EPP response from the outset
- Potential liabilities are known and funding mechanisms are agreed in advance
- Costs are minimised for all Parties
- A requirement that all funding Parties remain engaged in Cost Sharing until the EPP response is successful or a decision is made that the EPP response is no longer feasible or cost effective
- Involvement of industry and government representatives with authority to commit to actions and funding decisions
- Owners whose crops or property is directly damaged or destroyed as a result of implementing an approved Response Plan may be eligible for reimbursement of certain direct costs
- Australian Government agreement to underwrite an Industry Party's share of costs where that Industry Party has an approved mechanism for repayment
- Wider commitment to risk mitigation by all Parties through the development and implementation of biosecurity strategies and programs
- All jurisdictions define a base level (normal commitment) of resources for managing EPP responses
All state and territory Government Parties being required to meet performance standards for emergency response resources and to provide legislative support for response activities and grower reimbursement payments - Trained and accredited personnel to be involved in EPP responses wherever possible
- Provision of accountability and transparency to all Parties
