Priority plant pests
The National Priority Plant Pests, identified by Plant Health Committee, highlight the sort of threats Australia faces from plant pests. While they are not the only plant pests of biosecurity concern, they are used to focus government effort and national preparedness capability. These pests have the potential to cause significant damage to our plant industries, our environment and our way of life, and it is in the national interest to be prepared.
Our approach
National action plans for National Priority Plant Pests set out how we will prepare for these threats. They identify the capabilities to improve the way we prevent these pests from entering Australia, and to detect and respond to incursions if these pests were to enter Australia.
Responsibility for oversight of the national action plans, and monitoring implementation of actions lies with the relevant sectoral committee under the National Biosecurity Committee.
The national action plans are living documents and will be regularly reviewed. Additional plans are being developed and will be made available when finalised and endorsed.
National Priority Plant Pests and national action plans are a national resource to focus investment and effort.
National action plans
The National Hitchhiker (Contaminating) Plant Pest Action Plan 2022-2032 provides a nationally agreed strategy to enhance Australia’s capacity to prevent the introduction of hitchhiking plant pests and prepare for a response if these pests are detected in Australia. The actions outlined in the plan set out how outcomes will be achieved. The hitchhiking plant pests covered under this national action plan include exotic bees, Asian spongy moth, brown marmorated stink bug, giant African snail, and the emerging hitchhiker pest, the spotted lanternfly.
The Plant Health Committee is responsible for this national action plan. An implementation summary of completed projects will be published in late 2023.
The National Khapra Beetle Action Plan 2021-2031 builds on actions already undertaken and provides a nationally agreed strategy to enhance Australia’s capacity to prevent the introduction of khapra beetle and prepare for a response should it be detected in Australia. The actions outlined in the plan set out how this outcome will be achieved.
The Plant Health Committee is responsible for this national action plan.
| Action Area | Completed projects | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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Prevention |
1.1 |
Conduct a new pest risk assessment of khapra beetle and maintain appropriate regulation at the Australian border |
Phase 1 to 3, 5 urgent actions as detailed. |
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1.4 |
Improve hygiene of shipping containers imported into Australia |
Phase 6A urgent actions as detailed Produced educational materials for domestic and international audiences, including posters and videos to raise awareness of khapra beetle risks and promote sea container cleanliness. Promoted awareness of the international Code of Practice for Packing Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code). |
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1.5 |
Reduce incidental contamination and use data to inform risk management decisions |
Used eDNA information to identify high-risk shipping containers. |
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1.7 |
Improve detection of high-risk shipping containers |
Undertook a pilot study to get more container transportation information. |
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Detection |
2.1 |
Build and strengthen national diagnostic capability |
Developed and conducted regular training to maintain skills in jurisdictions, and train more scientists, both in-house and in universities. |
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2.2 |
Review field-based surveillance, trapping, and diagnostic methods and tools |
Developed Environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect khapra beetle in soil or sediments. Introduced khapra beetle loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay diagnostics to department laboratories and relevant regional locations. |
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2.3 |
Develop and implement national surveillance using best practice tools and methods |
Developed communication materials to raise khapra beetle awareness and promote reporting. |
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Response |
3.1 |
Improve management of post-border detection responses |
Reviewed response guidelines |
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3.3 |
Identify and assess effective eradication treatment methods for buildings, goods and shipping containers |
Tested various fumigation and heat treatment protocols. |
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3.4 |
Develop comprehensive national contingency plans and supporting operational procedures. Validate these measures using a national simulation exercise. |
The completed contingency plan will provide a nationally agreed approach to a contingency planning framework. |
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Cross Cutting |
4.1 |
Develop an overarching communication and engagement strategy, and deliver targeted activities relevant to each stakeholder group |
Developed communication and engagement strategy. |
The National Xylella Action Plan 2019-2029 provides a nationally agreed approach to enhance Australia’s capacity to prevent the introduction of Xylella and exotic vectors and prepare for a response, should it be detected in Australia, and sets out how the actions to achieve this outcome.
The Plant Health Committee is responsible for this national action plan.
| Action Area | Completed projects | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prevention | 1.2 | Identify plants that occur in Australia that are known, or have potential, to be hosts | National Priority Plant Pests True Host List and Risk Pathways project delivered. |
| Detection | 2.2 | Establish high-throughput diagnostic testing capacity and capability | The surge capacity project has been delivered. The purpose of the project was to pilot workflow simulators and determine the most useful, effective tool for evaluating surge capacity for rollout to all relevant laboratories likely to be involved in emergency responses. Surge capacity workflow simulators were designed for six Australian diagnostic laboratories. The current model is useful for leaf foliar pathogens which utilises PCR-based techniques; however, the model requires further validation and real-time testing to ensure the projections are accurate. |
| Response | 3.2 | Develop tools and systems to capture, store and analyse real-time surveillance, spatial and diagnostic data to support a response in the Australian context | Jurisdictions have a variety of response systems used for biosecurity response; minimum data standards have been agreed and no further action is planned. |
| Response | 3.3 | Impede the spread of Xylella fastidiosa during an incursion through industry adoption of developed protocols that promote the safe movement of nursery stock. | Horticulture Innovation Australia has funded 'Exercise Fastidious' through its nursery fund to improve Australia’s preparedness to respond to a detection of Xylella fastidiosa. The learnings and outcomes report is available on the Plant Health Australia website. |
| Cross-cutting | 4.6 | Assess the potential environmental and economic impacts of Xylella. | The report ‘Economic impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on the Australia wine grape and wine making industries’ and the report ‘Protecting Australia’s horticultural industries from disease: The impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on Australian horticulture and the environment’ are published on the DAWE website. |
The National Invasive Ant Biosecurity Plan 2018-2028 provides a nationally agreed approach to enhance Australia’s capacity to manage the ongoing threat of invasive ants establishing in Australia and the impacts caused by those species already established.
The Environment and Invasives Committee is responsible for this national action plan
It has been agreed by the Plant Health Committee that national action plans be developed to cover all National Priority Plant Pests. The status of development of these national action plans is provided below:
- National Action Plan for Pests of Trees and Timber – commenced
- National Action Plan for Fruit Flies – commenced
- National Action Plan for Pests of Broadacre Crops – planning underway
- National Action Plan for Pests of Horticultural Crops – planning underway
Downloads
Download
National Hitchhiker (Contaminating) Plant Pest Action Plan 2022-2032 (PDF 993 KB)
National Hitchhiker (Contaminating) Plant Pest Action Plan 2022-2032 (DOCX 12.7 MB)
National Xylella Action Plan 2019-2029 (PDF 2.2 MB)
National Xylella Action Plan 2019-2029 (DOCX 2.3 MB)
National Khapra Beetle Action Plan 2021-2031 (PDF 6.0 MB)
National Khapra Beetle Action Plan 2021-2031 (DOCX 9.0 MB)
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