12-13 August 2025
The Environment and Invasives Committee (EIC) held its meeting on 12–13 August 2025 in Perth, Western Australia. The first day of the meeting was dedicated planning workshop to align the EIC workplan with national biosecurity priorities.
EIC endorsed governance arrangements to enable Commonwealth and state and territory governments to jointly develop and implement national threat abatement plans. The plans aim to coordinate efforts to reduce the impact of invasive species and disease threats on Australia’s biodiversity.
Members agreed that the development of national aerial shooting guidelines was required, however, did not agree to the proposed cost sharing arrangements. This initiative will be led by Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
The committee reviewed a recent recommendation to better integrate the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) into the national biosecurity governance framework and provided in-principal support that such integration would strengthen oversight and coordination.
Following a successful six-month pilot, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) will continue to provide monthly Significant Plant Pest Interceptions Reports to EIC to support national preparedness.
EIC received an update on the Inspector-General of Biosecurity reviews and discussed opportunities for enhanced involvement to ensure environmental and invasive species risks are adequately addressed.
The committee noted updates on strategies including reviews of the Australian Weeds Strategy 2017-2027 and the Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2017-2027, and the proposed approach to implementing the invasive species target under Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2024-2030.
EIC discussed rabbit biocontrol and the ongoing need for new tools and strategies to sustain progress in reducing rabbit populations and their impacts in Australia and endorsed 11 risk assessments covering 15 species were presented.