Preparing for and responding to new pest incursions is set to take a more flexible approach as the Vegetable Industry Biosecurity and Business Continuity Strategy, VegWatch, aims to create a new biosecurity framework for the vegetable industry.

The VegWatch program is led by AUSVEG and brings together expertise from Plant Health Australia (PHA), state and territory government departments — including the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI Queensland) — as well as the Centre for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA), RM Consulting Group, and Onside Intelligence.

As part of VegWatch, a key output being delivered by PHA is an updated Vegetable Industry Biosecurity Plan.

A critical element of this new plan is the industry action plan, which outlines activities designed to strengthen the Australian vegetable industry’s biosecurity preparedness. On 13 March 2025, a group of industry experts convened in Melbourne for a hybrid meeting to develop the new action plan. During the meeting, participants workshopped activities and sought feedback on the outputs and timeframes outlined.

The meeting was attended by key PHA and AUSVEG staff, representatives from VegNET (the national vegetable extension network), various government jurisdictions, and other industry experts from across Australia. The session promoted robust discussion and provided an opportunity to review the progression of the Threat Summary Table (TST), another key component of the plan.

Next steps will see the industry action plan and TST finalised. This will support the development of two crucial lists: the High Priority Pest (HPP) and Other Pests of Biosecurity Significance, which will form the remaining key components of the plan.

The updated Vegetable Industry Biosecurity Plan is scheduled for completion for AUSVEG review by August 2025, before being presented to the Plant Health Committee for endorsement shortly after.

PHA’s Preparedness team thanks industry and government partners for their ongoing support, without whom the successful completion of these projects would not be possible.

The Vegetable Industry Biosecurity and Business Continuity Strategy (VG22004) has been funded by Hort Innovation using the Vegetable Industry research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not for profit research and development corporation for Australian Horticulture.