Biosecurity works quietly in the background, around the clock, protecting many things we all value. It helps safeguard the food we eat, the natural places we cherish, and the health of our plants, animals and communities.
National Biosecurity Week is our opportunity each year to draw back the curtain. We invite you to take a closer look at biosecurity in Australia.
This is the accessible text transcript of one person discussing National Biosecurity Week and the importance of biosecurity, created for an external public audience.
[Video begins]
Speaker: Justine Saunders
I'm Justine Saunders, Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity at the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
I'm really excited to be introducing National Biosecurity Week for 2026.
Biosecurity helps protect many of the things Australians value most, from our food and environment to our economy, health and our way of life.
National Biosecurity Week is Australia's national awareness week, dedicated to helping people better understand our biosecurity system and the role each of us plays in protecting it.
Biosecurity isn't something governments or industry can do alone.
Every Australian has a role to play, whether you're travelling overseas, buying products online, spending time outdoors or growing vegetables in your backyard.
Simple actions can help stop harmful pests, diseases and invasive species from spreading.
It supports nearly $100 billion in agriculture, fisheries and forestry production each year and helps sustain around 1.6 million jobs.
Put simply, Australia's biosecurity system is the network of people, practices and partnerships working together to prevent harmful pests, diseases and invasive species from entering, establishing or spreading in Australia.
Before goods even leave for Australia, we assess risks, set import conditions, and arrange offshore treatments and inspections.
At the border, we screen travelers, mail, cargo, vessels, and aircraft.
Beyond the border, we monitor for exotic pests and diseases through surveillance programs, scientific research, and partnerships, including the Indigenous Ranger Biosecurity Program.
And we don't do it alone.
Governments, industry, scientists, community groups, and everyday Australians all play a critically important role in protecting Australia from biosecurity threats.
Strong biosecurity helps Australian producers reach more customers, supports regional communities and strengthens Australia's reputation as a trusted trading partner.
Preparedness is about acting early, investigating ahead of risk and working together so Australia is ready to respond when threats emerge.
By combining skilled people, strong partnerships, science and technology, we can stay ahead of emerging threats and keep strengthening Australia's biosecurity system.
Biosecurity is something most Australians rarely think about but it helps protect the things we rely on every day.
A strong biosecurity system depends on all of us playing our part.
This National Biosecurity Week, I encourage all Australians to take a few minutes to learn more about biosecurity.
Follow the rules when travelling or purchasing products from overseas and report anything unusual.
Small actions can have a big impact.
Biosecurity starts with all of us.
Together, we can help keep Australia protected, prepared and resilient for the future.
[Video ends]
[End of transcript]
This is the accessible text transcript of one person filmed interview-style discussing National Biosecurity Week and the importance of animal biosecurity and a One Health approach, created for an external public audience.
[Video begins]
Speaker: Dr Brant Smith, First Assistant Secretary, Biosecurity Animal Office
00:00:00
Hi, I'm Dr Brant Smith.
I'm a veterinarian and I'm also the head of the Animal Biosecurity Division in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
00:00:09
This National Biosecurity Week, I want everyone to understand how important animal biosecurity is, not just for our animal health, but for the safety of our environment, our economy, food supply and communities into the future, no matter where we live.
00:00:22
Animal biosecurity helps protect Australia, not just with animals, but also with people and with the environment.
And when we think of animal health, it's not just about livestock.
00:00:30
It's also about our pets, our assistance animals, it's about aquatic animals and a whole range of things to keep our communities safe.
We take what's called a One Health approach.
One Health just means environment, human health and animal health and how that comes together, not just for ourselves but for everybody in our community.
00:00:50
Australia has a very strong biosecurity system, but we do have a lot of trade.
We have a lot of movements of people and animal products right across the world.
So global trade is important.
Climate change is important, and we're seeing the spread of pests and diseases right across not just our country, but the world.
00:01:07
What's really important is that we all have a role to play.
Did you know that last year, our detector dogs at the border detected 40,000 items of significance? And that's really important because just one of those can create disease or an outbreak.
So you can have a really important role to play.
When you're coming in and out of the country, make sure you declare items.
And if you're out and about in the community and you see something unusual, signs of disease, don't sit on it, make sure you report it.
We've got the emergency animal disease hotline and lots of people have been using that in the latest H5 bird flu outbreak and it's really important that communities are actively engaged in biosecurity.
00:01:43
Animal biosecurity is really important to keep our country free of some of the diseases that we have around the world.
We are free from diseases such as foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, African swine fever and rabies, which means that we can engage in walks in the park, we can enjoy our wildlife and make sure that we have healthy communities.
00:02:03
Effective biosecurity starts well beyond our shores.
We have a team of scientists and experts that undertake rigorous risk assessments to make sure we understand what the risks are, how they could get into Australia and how we can minimise their spread.
00:02:16
But beyond the border we have really good surveillance systems.
We work with laboratories, Indigenous ranger groups and community groups, wildlife carers and veterinarians, all of which play an important role in how we manage the health of our country across animal, environment and plant health.
00:02:34
Emergency animal disease preparedness is incredibly important.
What we've done in recent times is we've worked really hard, particularly on the H5 bird flu.
We were aware that it was circulating around the world and we did everything we could to prepare if and when we had an incursion.
What that looked like was a series of exercises where we tested the system, the laboratory system, how we communicate and how we coordinate and that's put us in a really good position to respond right now.
00:02:55
What we are able to do is our world-first vaccination program where we are vaccinating hundreds and thousands of little penguins.
And that makes a real difference in how we can preserve those species.
00:03:06
This doesn't happen overnight.
It takes years of dedication, years of investment right across the board, and that's what's put us in the best possible position to deal with what is a really challenging situation.
00:03:14
Biosecurity isn't just a responsibility of government.
It's a shared responsibility.
Everyone has a part to play, whether it's declaring something at the border or making sure you're looking out for things within the community.
00:03:24
This National Biosecurity Week is about protecting what we value.
It's important for everyone to understand how they can play a role and to recognise the amazing efforts of people who dedicate a huge amount of their time and effort to keeping our system strong.
But most importantly, it's about keeping animals healthy, about keeping our communities safe and industry strong for the future.
[Video ends]
[End of transcript]
A strong, modern biosecurity system is crucial for our nation’s success.
Our farms, fisheries and produce around $100 billion in agricultural products each year and approximately $70 billion in premium products for export.
Biosecurity helps to:
Strong animal biosecurity also helps protect Australia from harmful pests and diseases, and maintains our strong animal, plant and human health reputation.
Protecting animal health helps support healthier communities and ecosystems.
Pests and diseases can cause serious damage to our plants, animals and natural environment.
Australia is free from many of the world’s worst pest and diseases. If these exotic pests and diseases were to enter our country, they would destroy our crops and devastate our livestock and poultry.
A strong biosecurity system helps prevent these pests and diseases from entering and establishing in Australia.
Working pre-border, at the border and beyond the border, Australia’s biosecurity system provides multiple layers of protection and helps us respond quickly if risks are detected.
This is the accessible text transcript of a three-person panel of experts discussing National Biosecurity Week and the importance of biosecurity, created for an external public audience.
[Video begins]
[Video description: text on screen with blurred photograph of the three panel members in the background. Text reads ‘National Biosecurity Week – let’s talk about why it matters’.]
00:00:04 Dr Beth Cookson [Video description: super title reads Dr Beth Cookson, Australian Chief Veterinary Officer]
It's about protecting our native wildlife, our biodiversity, it's about public health, it's about our food safety systems and it's about the health and wellbeing of our communities.
00:00:14 Dr Rosa Crnov [Video description: super title reads Dr Rosa Crnov, Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer]
Biosecurity for me is about protecting our way of life.
00:00:18 Dr Rosa Crnov
We fundamentally want to keep out those
00:00:22 Dr Rosa Crnov
pests and diseases that could impact our way of life.
00:00:26 Dr Rosa Crnov
It's about limiting impacts also to people and jobs.
00:00:30 Dr Susie Collins [Video description: super title reads Dr Susie Collins, Acting Australian Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer]
The protection of Australia and our assets and our people and our environment and our culture is critical.
00:00:36 Dr Susie Collins
To me it's also about connections.
00:00:40 Dr Susie Collins
It's about our connection not only within Australia to all of the people who are involved in the system but also internationally.
00:00:49 Dr Susie Collins
You know we're a trading nation, we want to travel but we want to
00:00:52 Dr Susie Collins
protect what's here in Australia.
00:00:53 Dr Susie Collins
So that connection both locally, regionally, nationally and also out globally, I think is a critical part of our system and what biosecurity is all about and what biosecurity needs to continue to focus on.
00:01:09 Dr Beth Cookson
I think for me in my role strengthening Australia's biosecurity system, it's really that opportunity to provide national leadership, technical coordination and a
00:01:20 Dr Beth Cookson
a trusted voice in the community.
00:01:23 Dr Rosa Crnov
And while each of us represents our own particular sector, we don't work in isolation.
00:01:28 Dr Rosa Crnov
Our work crosses.
00:01:30 Dr Rosa Crnov
across that whole biosecurity spectrum, preventing, preparing all the way to response.
00:01:36 Dr Rosa Crnov
And we can only do that successfully by working together and not obviously just the three of us, but nationally with our stakeholders, whether they're obviously the industries, First Nations people, householders, everybody has a buy-in and a commitment to biosecurity.
00:01:57 Dr Rosa Crnov
We're forever responding across the country to suspect plants and pest diseases.
00:02:03 Dr Rosa Crnov
But last year we had a response nationally to Capra beetle in imported nappies.
00:02:11 Dr Rosa Crnov
And we got on top of it as a country really quickly because a householder
00:02:16 Dr Rosa Crnov
who was changing his child's nappy, noticed larvae, these little insects in his child's nappy.
00:02:26 Dr Rosa Crnov
So he reported that to us as the Commonwealth Department at our 1800 number and we got into action really quickly and it was a fantastic outcome for the country.
00:02:39 Dr Susie Collins
Have a look around you.
00:02:41 Dr Susie Collins
Go outside, look at the trees, look at your dogs, look at the birds in the sky, keep your eyes out, report things if they look different because what you're protecting is those things around you.
00:02:52 Dr Susie Collins
It's our natural environment.
00:02:54 Dr Susie Collins
It's our pets and our wildlife, it's our food supply and our industries and our communities.
00:03:00 Dr Rosa Crnov
And so I'd encourage anyone who sees anything unusual, report it and we'll follow up and investigate because you could be providing information about an early detection of an unwanted pest and the sooner we know about that, the more likely we are to be able to manage and potentially eradicate.
00:03:19 Dr Beth Cookson
So let's celebrate our partnerships across biosecurity.
00:03:22 Dr Beth Cookson
Let's ensure that they remain
00:03:24 Dr Beth Cookson
strong and that we work together as the Australian community in the interest of Australia's biosecurity.
00:03:31 Dr Beth Cookson
The more Australians understand biosecurity, the stronger we are together.
[Video ends]
[End of transcript]
We work with communities, industries, organisations and governments in Australia and overseas to strengthen our biosecurity system.
We continue to enhance and widen our biosecurity operations by:
Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Chief Plant Protection Officer and Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer play a crucial role in our biosecurity system. Together, they provide trusted advice, champion a One Health approach, and guide responses to plant, animal and environmental risks.
Hear from our Three Chiefs about their roles and how they work together to protect Australia.
Biosecurity isn’t just about border checks - it’s a shared responsibility across individuals, businesses and governments. Whether you're a farmer, a traveller, a scientist, or interested in protecting your way of life, everyone has a role to play.
See it. Record it. Report it.
Biosecurity starts with you. If you notice anything unusual or are unsure, call:
Thursday, 27 August
As Australia marks National Biosecurity Week, businesses are being encouraged to play their part in protecting the nation from pests, diseases and invasive species.
Wednesday, 26 August
Australia’s newest biosecurity detector dogs are already making their mark. The 4 new detector dogs graduated in June and are now undertaking their operational transition at airports, seaports and mail centres across the country.
Monday, 24 August
Prominent national landmarks will be illuminated blue to launch National Biosecurity Week 2026, shining a spotlight on our shared responsibility to protect Australia from biosecurity threats.
