As the lead coordinating body for plant biosecurity in Australia, PHA’s role is to maintain and enhance partnerships between industry and governments for emergency response.
The Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) is a formal legally binding agreement between PHA, the Australian Government, all state and territory governments and national plant industry body signatories. It covers the management and funding of responses to Emergency Plant Pest (EPP) incidents, including the potential for owner reimbursement costs for growers. It also formalises the role of plant industries' participation in decision making as well as their contribution towards the costs related to EPP responses.
Underpinning the EPPRD is PLANTPLAN, the agreed technical response plan used by jurisdictions and industry in responding to an EPP incident. It provides nationally consistent guidelines for response procedures under the EPPRD, outlining the phases of an incursion (investigation, alert, operational and stand down), as well as the key roles and responsibilities of industry and government during each of these phases. It incorporates best practice in EPP responses is updated regularly to incorporate new information or address gaps identified by the outcomes of EPP incident reviews.
Pest specific materials including fact sheets and contingency plans are located on PHA's Pest Information Document Database (PIDD), or through PaDIL's Plant Biosecurity Toolbox.