The role of growers in the national biosecurity system

Growers play an essential role in protecting Australia’s agricultural industries against pests and diseases. Simple daily actions can help keep plant pests and diseases off your property.

Minimising biosecurity risks

There are actions you can take every day to minimise the risk of plant pests and diseases entering and establishing on your property. Prevention, as they say, is better than a cure.

Here are a few simple ways you can keep your property pest-free:

• monitor people, vehicles and equipment that go on and off your property, making sure they are clean and free from dirt and weeds
• implement good farm hygiene practices such as controlling weeds and feral animals, monitoring water sources, using and storing chemicals according to their labels, and keeping production and storage areas clean and tidy
• make biosecurity a part of your day-to-day business by educating yourself and your staff on how to implement good biosecurity practices.

Report anything unusual

All states and territories have a legal obligation requiring you to report potential biosecurity risks as soon as possible. The Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881 will link you directly to the state or territory agriculture department in the location you are calling from and advise you on the next steps. Reporting early is critical in increasing our chance of eradication and supporting a return to business as usual as quickly as possible.

What you can do now

• Familiarise yourself with the high-priority pests for your industry. Visit Plant Health Australia’s resource centre to find out more.
• Prepare a biosecurity plan for your property.
• Explore available resources:
  • Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD)
  • Emergency Plant Pests
  • National Biosecurity Strategy
• Watch online videos to learn more:
  • Australia’s Biosecurity system
  • Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Detect and Protect podcast series
  • Biosecurity Bite: At the Border
  • Do free training on Biosecurity Online Training platform (BOLT).

In 2024, Plant Health Australia developed educational resources designed to help Plant Industry Members educate their own members about the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed. This article highlights the vital contributions of growers in the national biosecurity system Read more about the Industry Resource Toolkit.