The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry works with its stakeholders to maintain and improve plant health in Australia. Australia has well established government–industry arrangements to support the national plant health system.
National committees
- National Biosecurity Committee (NBC)
- Plant Health Committee (PHC)
- Subcommittee on Domestic Quarantine and Market Access (SDQMA)
- Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostics (SPHD)
- Subcommittee on National Plant Health Surveillance (SNPHS)
Emergency response arrangements
Should an incursion of an exotic plant pest occur in Australia, we have well established response arrangements in place.
- Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD)
- Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP)
- National Management Group—see communiqués from recent meetings
- National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement (NEBRA)
- National Biosecurity Management Group (NBMG)—see Schedule 7 of the NEBRA
- National Biosecurity Management Consultative Committee (NBMCC)—see Schedule 8 of the NEBRA
See National pests and disease outbreak for information on national pest, disease and weed incursions.
National plant health policies
Australia’s national plant health policies strengthen our biosecurity system and support safe domestic and international trade. They provide nationally agreed frameworks for managing new and endemic plant pests and diseases, including through official control, Regulated Non-Quarantine Pest (RNQP) arrangements, pest freedom and pest absence. These policies are aligned to international standards and help ensure Australia’s regulatory actions are technically justified and internationally defensible.
For more information, visit the National plant health policies page.