Queensland Invasive Plants and Animals Strategy 2025–2030
The Queensland Invasive Plants and Animals Strategy 2025–2030 (the strategy) is a statewide framework and set of strategic actions for everyone to guide the prevention and management of invasive plants and animals over the next 5 years.
About the strategy
This strategy encompasses invasive plants and animals, including exotic weeds and pest animals, invertebrate pests, invasive fish and some pathogens.
It recognises that managing the risks and impacts of invasive plants and animals happens with several potentially exacerbating factors. These include:
- climate change
- land use change
- land degradation
- biodiversity loss
- global trade
- increasing movement of people through travel and migration.
The management of invasive plants and animals is the shared responsibility of landowners, land managers, industry, the community, and all levels of government.
Vision
The natural environment, economy, communities and lifestyle of Queensland is safeguarded from the impacts of invasive plants and animals.
Mission
Queenslanders deliver strategic and targeted actions to protect Queensland from the impacts of invasive plants and animals through a collaborative and resourced biosecurity system.
Guiding principles
The strategy embodies 7 principles that underpin effective management of invasive plants and animals. They provide a common basis for all of Queensland.
- Integration, collaboration and coordination: stakeholders need to establish long-term consultation and partnership arrangements, including the consistent reporting and sharing of agreed datasets.
- Strategic risk-based planning: planning is most effective when guided by the latest research and best practice, and when focused on risk-based decisions and greatest return on investment.
- Shared responsibility and commitment: shared responsibility and long-term commitment by everyone in the biosecurity system.
- Capability building through education and awareness: will increase the community’s capability and willingness to participate in management and control.
- Prevention, preparedness and early intervention: risk-based prevention, preparedness and early intervention is the most cost-effective approach for managing invasive plants and animals.
- Best practice and research: will inform the development, promotion and implementation of best practice management and policies.
- Monitoring and evaluation: needed to inform evidence-based decisions and adopt a practice of continuous improvement of management practices.
Actions
Theme 1: Prevention and preparedness
- Prevention and early intervention are the most cost-effective management strategies.
Theme 2: Effective management approaches
- Best practice for effective control often involves multiple control methods, and successful long-term management relies on cooperation with neighbours and the coordination of control activities
Theme 3: Strategic planning
- Through strategic planning, actions can be prioritised to ensure that resources are used for maximum effect.
Theme 4: Communication, engagement and training
- Overall community awareness may improve when stakeholders have accessible, science-based information on invasive plants and animals, their characteristics, their impacts and required control actions.
Theme 5: Commitment, roles and responsibilities
- To successfully control invasive plants and animals in the long term, clearly defined and accepted roles and responsibilities are needed.
Theme 6: Monitoring and assessment
- Reliable data from monitoring is needed to ensure that invasive plants and animals are managed holistically and for the long term.