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Plant Health Laws in South Australia (PDF 641.6 KB)

Queensland Fruit Fly - Host Check List (PDF 1.1 MB)

Latest News

Biosecurity SA has produced a new information poster for commercial growers and the public on signs to look out for in detecting Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid disease (PSTVd). More information or view poster ( PDF 1.3 MB).

Sterile flies to 'wing it' in Salisbury fruit fly purge

Fruit fly outbreak declared in Adelaide's north-west - 23 February 2012

APVMA – suspension of use of dimethoate - 6 October 2011 (external site)

Locusts

Languages Other Than English
If you need information translated, and you live in South Australia, please contact the Telephone Interpreter Service (TIS) on 13 14 50 and ask the interpreter to telephone Service SA on 13 23 24.

For more information about this translation service go to the Interpreting and Translation Centre.

Emergency plant pests

The establishment of emergency plant pests in South Australia could have serious consequences for horticultural industries.

An emergency plant pest could be any of the following:

  • a known exotic plant pest
  • a variant form of a plant pest already established in Australia
  • an entirely new serious plant pest
  • a plant pest that is officially controlled in Australia, but requires a significant emergency response to reduce the risk of a large scale epidemic.

Emergency plant pests that are of an immediate concern to South Australia include:

More information about emergency plant pests and national eradication programs can be found on the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) website (external), including a list of pests and diseases that have been identified as threats to Australia's horticultural and grains industries.

The Office of the Chief Plant Protection Office within the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has funded surveillance activities delivered by Australian state and territory jurisdictions for a number of years. These have included trapping programs in the vicinity of ports of entry for exotic fruit flies and Asian gypsy moth, risk based urban surveys for a range of plant pests not yet established in Australia, surveys for plant pests present in Australia that could be indicators of environmental change and the development of a knowledge network of plant surveillance through the maintenance of the National Plant Surveillance Reporting Tool. PIRSA is an active participant of these plant pest surveillance activities. The objective of the national surveillance program is to develop and implement a multi-jurisdictional approach to surveillance that incorporates trapping and multiple pest surveillance in the vicinity of ports of entry or at sites that have a relatively high risk of pest presence based on pathway and habitat considerations. The program targets multiple pests using a range of surveillance techniques and collects and records the surveillance results in a standardised and consistent structure that allows aggregation across jurisdictions in a form that is suitable for statistical analysis.

Biosecurity SA has a long history of preventing, eradicating and managing plant pests in South Australia. Government Agencies, industry and the community are now addressing threats in a more integrated manner, and the effectiveness and efficiency of biosecurity systems is starting to show. It is vital to get the systems right because of the growing number of challenges from invasive pests, weeds and diseases. As part of this program a strategy of public and community awareness is being run to encourage the general public to call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline Number 1800 084 881 to report any suspect exotic pests.

Awareness sheets for each of South Australia’s targeted pests are below. All stakeholders are encouraged to be part of an exotic plant pest surveillance network.

Reporting plant pests and disease

If you wish to report any suspicious or unusual-looking pest or disease symptom, or any activity that you think contravenes South Australian quarantine laws:

  • phone the Emergency Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.

Quick reporting is the key to preventing a major outbreak of a pest or disease that could seriously affect our horticultural industries. Calls to the hotline are free (except from mobiles).