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This project will develop robust polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods to detect Theileria equi and Babesia Caballi, the pathogens that cause equine piroplasmosis (EP). These tests will complement serological tests for EP at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP).
Exercise Waterhole, a national laboratory exercise in 2023, showed limits in current laboratory information management systems. These include not being fully integrated, with some data requiring manual entry. This can increase laboratory staff workload.
The project will address these issues by deploying the Sample Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) v2. This will improve interoperability with national and jurisdictional systems. With tailored technical support and collaboration, the project aims to integrate STARS v2 in 3 animal health laboratories.
The project created a roadmap to guide the setup of a proficiency testing (PT) program for diagnostic high throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics in the Laboratories for Emergency Animal Disease Diagnosis and Response (LEADDR) network. The roadmap came from a planning workshop with LEADDR members. The workshop informed a 5-year business plan.
Project Lead: Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness; Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Laboratories for Emergency Animal Disease Diagnosis and Response network
Exercise Waterhole was a national laboratory exercise in 2023. It showed the need for enhanced management of baseline or centralised laboratory stockpiles. In March 2025, a national workshop considered a centralised national laboratory stockpile for emergency animal disease response. Scenario-based activities tested needs and found gaps in reagents and storage. After the workshop, a catalogue of commonly used tests and reagents across the Laboratories for Emergency Animal Disease Diagnosis and Response (LEADDR) network was created.
HASTE (Enhancing rapid decision-support for emergency animal disease outbreaks) is a national collaboration to strengthen Australia’s preparedness and response to emergency animal disease outbreaks. It does this through engagement, analytics, distribution, and operationalisation.
The Australian Animal Disease Genomics Initiative is a national program to improve how Australia understands, detects and manages animal diseases through genomics.
Bioplatforms Australia established this initiative with the animal health sector. It has $1 million in funding. This support will produce core molecular data and methods for national surveillance, diagnostics, and disease intervention across livestock, aquaculture, and wildlife systems.
Initiative Lead: Sarah Richmond, General Manager – Science
16 December 2025
Approved arrangements operators who will be required to view and/or update details of their Approved Arrangement via the Approve Arrangement Management Product (AAMP).
All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) during this planned maintenance period.
All clients submitting the below declarations:
15 December 2025
Species: All
Countries: All
To advise the department’s arrangements for the live animal exports general enquiries phone line and mailboxes over the Christmas period (25 December 2025 – 1 January 2026 inclusive).
Date of issue: 9 December 2025
Date of effect: Immediate
Attention: Meat and meat products registered establishments and exporters
This notice provides export registered establishments with notice that the proposed 2025 legislative amendments to the meat commodity rules will commence on 9 December 2025, and advice on implementation tasks needed to support using the changes.
09 December 2025
All clients required to use the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON) during this planned outage.
Due to scheduled system maintenance, BICON will be unavailable from 23:00 Saturday 13 December to 01:00 Sunday 14 December 2025 (AEDT).
Clients are advised to complete and submit any in-progress import permit applications prior to the commencement of this planned outage period.
