FAQs
1. What is the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed?
The Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) is a formal legally binding agreement between Plant Health Australia (PHA), the Australian Government, all State and Territory Governments and plant industry signatories covering the management and funding of responses to Emergency Plant Pest Incidents.
The EPPRD replaces previous informal arrangements and provides a formal role for industry to participate and assume a greater responsibility in decision making in relation to Emergency Plant Pest responses.
The EPPRD is the plant sector equivalent of the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement which operates in the animal (livestock) sector.
2. What is an Emergency Plant Pest?
An Emergency Plant Pest is a known exotic plant pest, a variant form of a plant pest already established in Australia, or an entirely new serious plant pest, all of which could have an adverse economic impact regionally and/or nationally if established in Australia. An Emergency Plant Pest may also be a plant pest that is being officially controlled in Australia but requiring a significant emergency response to ensure that there is not a large scale epidemic of regional or national significance.
3. What are the benefits of the EPPRD?
The most substantial benefit is the ability to respond quickly and effectively to an Emergency Plant Pest threat while minimising uncertainty over management and funding arrangements.
Other significant benefits are:
- potential liabilities are known and funding mechanisms are agreed in advance
- costs are minimised for all Parties
- a requirement that all funding Parties remain engaged in cost sharing until the Emergency Plant Pest response is successful or a decision is made that the Emergency Plant Pest response is no longer feasible or cost effective
- industry is directly involved in decision making about mounting and managing an Emergency Plant Pest response from the outset
- involvement of senior people with authority to commit to actions and funding decisions
- a consistent and agreed national approach for managing incursions
- Affected growers whose industry representative body is a Party to the EPPRD receive reimbursement of certain authorised direct costs associated with an approved Emergency Plant Pest response which will help remove disincentives to report suspicion of pests and diseases
- Australian Government agreement to initially pay an Industry Party's share of costs where that Industry Party is unable to do so and to allow such funding to be repaid over time
- wider commitment to risk mitigation by all Parties through the development and implementation of biosecurity strategies and programs
- all jurisdictions being required to define a base level of resources for managing Emergency Plant Pest responses
- all State and Territory Government Parties being required to meet performance standards for emergency response resources and to provide legislative support for response activities and grower compensation payments
- provision of an impetus to maintain a reserve of trained personnel and technical expertise
- trained and accredited personnel being required to be involved in Emergency Plant Pest responses wherever possible
- provision of accountability and transparency to all Parties.
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