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Biosecurity management is a complex and often difficult task involving coordination of governments, industry and the community in protecting the health of Australia’s agriculture and environment. It is becoming even more complex through growing challenges such as climate change and increased globalisation.
6 March 2009
Biosecurity Australia Advice 2009/04
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has completed its group pest risk analysis (PRA) for thrips and orthotospoviruses on fresh fruit, vegetable, cut-flower and foliage imports.
We are improving the effectiveness and consistency of the pest risk analysis (PRA) process. A key step in this process is the development of a group PRA approach.
In a PRA, we evaluate the evidence to determine whether an organism:
Members of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) are independent experts who have been appointed by the Director of Biosecurity. The SAG can provide advice on our biosecurity import risk analyses (BIRAs).
We involve a range of stakeholders when we conduct import risk analyses.
Departmental officers provide a combination of experience and expertise in:
Australia’s economy relies on strong, open trade. Every day, we import a range of live animals, plants and animal and plant products.
We must determine if an animal, plant or animal/plant product is safe to import to Australia. This is because imported goods can carry serious pests and diseases. We make this decision by assessing these biosecurity risks in the form of an import risk analysis.
The department will continue its collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA), with the Australian Government providing a $6.4 million grant to the University of Melbourne to continue biosecurity research crucial to protecting the nation’s agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries.
The University of Melbourne will host the CEBRA program over the next three years, with potential to extend for a fourth year, as it helps bolster the country’s defences from increasing biosecurity threats.
