A record number of Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) and National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostics Network (NPBDN) members registered to attend the Virtual ADSW 2024 that was held on Wednesday, 5 June 2024.

323 NPBDN and PSNAP members from across the Australasia-Pacific region registered to attend the two-and a-half-hour online event in what was a great opportunity for engaged surveillance and diagnostic professionals to present and discuss topical issues in the plant biosecurity space.

The members-only online event was delivered in two sessions, the first focusing on surveillance and the second on diagnostics. Highlights of the Virtual ADSW 2024 included:

• the delivery of 11 presentations in the program by surveillance practitioners and diagnostics experts across Australia
• three presentations delivered by invited speakers, including:
• Jane Royer (DAFF) speaking about the “Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) initiatives and prioritization approaches”
• Bill Crowe (DAFF) who addressed the topic of “Significant plant health border biosecurity detections”
• Paul Campbell (QDAF) who provided an overview of the “Vegetable Industry Biosecurity and Business Continuity” project and its proposed activities
• a record number of 323 registrations to attend Virtual ADSW 2024, with 232 people attending Session One and 209 people attending Session Two of the workshop.

If you would like read more about the presenters and the content delivered at the Virtual ADSW 2024 please visit psnap.net.au or npbdn.net.au.

The Virtual ADSW 2024 was delivered by Plant Health Australia (PHA), with content and structure of the event led by the PSNWG and NIWG, and funded by DAFF as a part of the National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostics and Surveillance Professional Development and Protocols projects.