The first independent review into the implementation and effectiveness of the NEBRA agreement in the five years since its commencement was completed in 2017.
In January and February 2017, targeted consultations took place in each state and territory with both government and non-government stakeholders. Over 150 nongovernment stakeholder groups were invited to consultation sessions across Australia, with more than 30 groups participating.
Written submissions were also accepted between 18 January 2017 and 17 March 2017.
A revised NEBRA (version 2.0) was endorsed by the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) to reflect its response to the 5-year review, where applicable. Version 2.0 of the NEBRA is available at National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement 2.0.
Discussion paper
A discussion paper was developed in 2016 to guide targeted consultation and written submissions. The paper provided a background to the NEBRA, its key policies and processes, and highlighted key themes for discussion under the review.
Download
| Document | File size |
|---|---|
| NEBRA 2017 Review Discussion Paper PDF | 404 KB |
| NEBRA 2017 Review Discussion Paper DOCX | 660 KB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
Submissions
Twenty submissions were received in response to the Discussion paper, including 9 from government agencies/bodies and 11 from non-government organisations. Submissions can be viewed below.
These submissions were not prepared by the department and may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines. If you require an accessible version of a submission, please contact its author.
Published submissions may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines as they have not been prepared by the department.
Final Review Report 2017
All submissions and feedback received during the review were considered by independent consultant KPMG who produced the final report.
The final report was provided to the NBC which considered the findings and recommendations in conjunction with the report; Priorities for Australia’s biosecurity system: an independent review of the capacity of the national biosecurity system and its underpinning intergovernmental agreement.
Download
| Document | File size |
|---|---|
| 2017 NEBRA Review Report PDF | 2 MB |
| 2017 NEBRA Review Report DOCX | 292 KB |
The published report may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines as the report has not been prepared by the department.
NBC approach to review recommendations
The NBC’s approach to each of the 2017 review recommendations and the reason behind these positions is provided at the link below.
NBC sought views on a draft revised NEBRA available for download below however, please note this is not the final or approved draft.
Download
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
Revised version of the NEBRA
The key outcome of the 2017 NEBRA review was the revised version of the NEBRA (version 2.0) which includes changes that enable greater involvement of environmental stakeholders in decision making.
Version 2.0 also includes the following key changes:
- Inclusion of a transition to management provision to enable national cost-sharing for activity following an unsuccessful eradication attempt.
- More clarity and detail for non-signatory participants to support key decision-making.
- The removal of business activity from the national significance criteria.
- Amendments to protocols including those relating to the meeting procedures to provide clarity and transparency.
- Structural and editorial amendments that align the NEBRA with other emergency response deeds;
- for exotic pests and diseases primarily impacting plant and animal industries
- to improve the usability of the deed
- improve consistency across the deeds for biosecurity stakeholders.
Contact
For further information, please contact the NEBRA Custodian.