Latest Articles

For previous years’ media releases, please visit the Media release archive.

Board update – Annual General Meeting and Board meeting 96

December 19, 2019

Plant Health Australia’s (PHA’s) Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in Canberra on Tuesday 19 November 2019. A number of member meetings were held around the AGM, including the 30th Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) Parties Meeting  on Wednesday 20 November. More

International Year of Plant Health for 2020

December 19, 2019

Australia will be making the most of the International Year of Plant Health in 2020 by promoting how much Australians value plants, and how we can best protect them.

Executive Director and CEO of PHA, Greg Fraser, said this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of protecting plants from pests and diseases. More

New hub of biosecurity information for botanic gardens launched

December 19, 2019

The Botanic Gardens Biosecurity Network, a community of practice bringing together botanic gardens staff, friends and volunteers, and biosecurity experts, has recently launched their website.

The aim of the Network is to build biosecurity knowledge and capacity to protect botanic gardens from plant pests and diseases. More

National forum focuses on protecting forests

December 19, 2019

On 31 October 2019, senior representatives from the Australian Government, state governments, and forest sector met in Melbourne to discuss a proposed National Forest Pest Surveillance Program.

All parties attending agreed there was need for a national program to mitigate the risks posed by exotic forest pests to Australia’s native forests, plantations and urban trees. More

A biosecurity plan for the sweetpotato industry

December 13, 2019

Australia’s sweetpotato industry is now be better prepared for the risk of new pests and diseases from overseas following the release of a biosecurity plan for the industry.

The plan identifies the high priority exotic pests and diseases of sweetpotato, and actions industry and government can take to protect against them. More

Announcement of PHA Board members

November 25, 2019

Plant Health Australia is pleased to announce the reappointment of Steve McCutcheon, Robert Prince and Joanne Daly as Board members at the PHA Annual General Meeting in Canberra on 19 November 2019.

Steve McCutcheon was reappointed as Chairperson and Liz Alexander as Deputy Chairperson at the PHA Board meeting on 21 November 2019. More

PHA Foundation Course – review

November 1, 2019

Plant Health Australia (PHA) is reviewing the eLearning PHA Foundation Course on the Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) website.

The course provides a summary of the Australian biosecurity system and how emergency responses to plant pests are managed under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed. More

PHA Board meets in South Australia

October 10, 2019

The PHA Board met in Adelaide on 5 September 2019 for Board Meeting 95. Before the meeting, Board members did a two-day field visit to relevant sites in South Australia.

Day 1 – SITPlus and Sundrop Farms

The Board spent the first day of their field visit (Tuesday, 3 September) at Port Augusta where they visited the new SITPlus facility. More

Citrus Surveillance Triage Workshop

September 30, 2019

On 24-25 September 2019, more than 50 government and industry personnel took part in training in citrus pests and diseases, surveillance techniques, and surveillance hygiene at a Citrus Surveillance Triage Workshop in Mildura.

PHA ran the Australian Government Department of Agriculture-funded workshop with assistance from Citrus Australia, Agriculture Victoria and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. More

Grains Biosecurity Officers out and about

September 27, 2019

An important part of the role of the five Grains Farm Biosecurity Program biosecurity officers is attending field days and other events to share biosecurity information and resources with grain producers.

For example, NSW Grains Biosecurity Officer attended AgQuip on 20-22 August 2019 with other members of the NSW DPI plant biosecurity and product integrity team. More