Australia’s plant biosecurity system is built on a shared responsibility between a diverse range of stakeholders including all levels of government, plant industry bodies, growers, research organisations, environmental groups, natural resource managers, supply chains and the wider community (e.g. Indigenous individuals and communities, education institutions and the general public). This means everyone takes responsibility for biosecurity matters, whether under their direct control or not, and everyone has an obligation to take action to protect Australia from plant pests and weeds.
The Australian Government and state and territory governments work under the principles set out in the IGAB. The IGAB aims to strengthen Australia’s biosecurity system, enhance national collaboration among Australian governments, and support our biosecurity system to meet current and future challenges. The current version of the agreement was ratified in January 2019 and replaced the previous IGAB which came into effect in 2012.
This strategy aligns with the IGAB and underpins the overarching NPBS. The NPBS is a ten-year plan that outlines a set of goals and actions to strengthen Australia’s plant biosecurity system. The strategy has provided the focus and strategic direction for national plant biosecurity activities since 2010, and drives the way governments, plant industries and the community to work closely together.
This strategy also complements other national strategies—the National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostic Strategy, National Plant Biosecurity Preparedness Strategy and Australian Weeds Strategy—to further strengthen plant biosecurity arrangements over the next decade. It also guides plant industry specific surveillance strategies that form part of the strategic framework for Australia’s plant biosecurity system. Figure 1 shows the relationship between key plant biosecurity strategies at the national level.
Figure 1. Key national strategies relevant to plant biosecurity.
a) The National Plant Biosecurity Strategy Implementation Group has oversight of the National Plant Biosecurity Strategy and its three sub-strategies on preparedness, surveillance and diagnostics.
b) The Environment and Invasives Committee has oversight of the Australian Weeds Strategy.
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