Plant pest surveillance activities are critical to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture and the biosecurity systems that protect them. Surveillance activities provide benefits to agricultural industries, the community and the environment.
‘Surveillance’ is a system of making and recording checks or inspections for plant pests (a broad term that refers to invertebrates and pathogens that negatively impact plants, plant products, bees, or edible fungi). Plant pests are estimated to cause losses of 20-40% every year, highlighting the significant impact they have on food production, food security, the natural environment and ecosystems.
Australia and New Zealand remain free of many pests that cause problems in other countries. This is due to geographic isolation and effective quarantine measures to date. Despite having strong biosecurity systems in place, increasing volumes of trade and people movement means there’s an ever-increasing risk of introduction of new pests.
Surveillance activities support:
Surveillance is mostly carried out by state governments, but the Australian Government, peak industry bodies, environmental agencies, growers and the Australian community is also involved.
A list of Australia’s most unwanted can be found here. Fact sheets on exotic pests are also available from the PHA website.
For further information, the National Plant Biosecurity Status Report provides a comprehensive summary of Australia’s biosecurity system, including its surveillance components.
Any unusual plant pest, disease or weed should be reported.
Reporting hotlines operate in both Australia and New Zealand (numbers shown below).
Australian Exotic Plant Pest Hotline
New Zealand Pest and Disease Hotline
Pests can also be reported using apps, such as MyPestGuide® for Australia, that allow you to submit a photo of the pest or symptoms.
Every report is taken seriously and handled confidentially. Management of calls varies in different areas, but to the same end.
Join a community of professionals dedicated to strengthening surveillance capacity and capability across the Australasia-Pacific region.
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