Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2025
An emergency happens when:
- a marine pest is found in a new area
- the pest could cause major damage to the environment, economy, or human health.
In these cases, we need to act quickly and work together to solve the problem.
Learn about the roles in biosecurity planning and response. Watch the video.
Transcript - Biosecurity Basics - Biosecurity role (docx 22KB)
Roles and responsibilities
We help coordinate national efforts, provide tools and share resources to support emergency planning and fast responses.
The Consultative Committee on Introduced Marine Pest Emergencies guides and coordinates a national response during a marine pest outbreak.
Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Managing marine pests requires cooperation between:
- state and territory governments
- industry
- communities.
Everyone who uses our waterways should understand the biosecurity risks of marine pests and how to reduce those risks.
Emergency marine pest plan
The emergency marine pest plan is Australia’s framework for managing marine pest outbreaks and guides our emergency response activities.
- Marine pest response manuals provide guidance on how to respond to a suspected or confirmed marine pest, and technical guidance on control, eradication and management.
- Biosecurity incident management system: guides emergency response operations including advice on setting up control centres, organising response teams, and information on specific marine pests.
National control plans for marine pests
The national control plans outline our approach to controlling and managing 6 marine pests already established in Australia.
- Northern Pacific Seastar
- Asian Date or Bag Mussels
- European Green Shore Crab
- Japanese Seaweed (Wakame)
- European or Basket Shell Clam
- European Fan Worm
These plans help guide the response to these pests, using agreed-upon technical and policy approaches.
National response arrangements
Emergency response arrangements are established under the national environmental biosecurity response agreement.
It applies to any biosecurity incident that will:
- affect the environment or social amenity
- where the response is for the public benefit.
The methodology to guide responses to marine pest incursions under the agreement provides:
- guidelines for developing an analysis to identify the costs and benefits in response to marine pest.
- consistent format and content for a cost-benefit analysis.