NSW Invasive species management review




The NSW Premier has requested the Commission to review the priority risks and impacts of invasive species in NSW, including the effectiveness of current management strategies.

This will help to inform the NSW Government of key opportunities to better manage invasive species, supported by the best available evidence.

Pests and weeds cause over $25 billion in damage to agriculture and biodiversity each year nationally, of which NSW bears a large proportion. Over 70 percent of NSW’s threatened species and endangered ecological communities are also impacted by invasive species.

Preliminary report

Our preliminary report identified five areas in which key issues pose the greatest risk to the success of NSW’s invasive species management system. For each area, the report proposes a suite of integrated recommendations targeting risk reduction and system-wide improvement. These will be further detailed in terms of priorities, timelines and responsibilities in the final report.

Terms of Reference

The terms of reference required us to advise the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Environment about strategic opportunities to improve the management of invasive species in NSW across all land tenures for environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits.

In developing our advice, we will:

  • quantify the current extent and impacts of invasive species on NSW industry, environment, and communities
  • identify future risks posed to NSW industry, environment, and communities by invasive species, including any which are driven by climate change impacts and impacts from natural disasters
  • consider existing programs and how they could better contribute to improved invasive species management outcomes in the future
  • audit implementation of state and regional invasive species management plans
  • provide advice to the Independent Biosecurity Commission on areas of further investigation regarding potential barriers to effective invasive species management.

Please refer to the terms of reference and FAQs for further details on the review.

Consultation

  • Media release - Have your say on how to better manage pests and weeds (3 October 2023)

We have received a range of public submissions which will be considered as part of the review. Public submissions closed on 31 October 2023.

We are also consulting with targeted stakeholders and working with Dr. Marion Healy, interim NSW Biosecurity Commissioner, in delivering the review.

If you would like to contact us about the review or provide further information please email: nrc@nrc.nsw.gov.au

Submissions

Timing

The final report will be delivered to the NSW Government by October 2024.

The report, including key findings and recommendations, will be made available on our website within a reasonable time after it has been provided to the Government.

Outputs from review

The review team has commissioned a number of supporting investigations to inform the 2023 invasive species management review. This list will be updated throughout the review.

  • Assessment of landscape-scale action on the management of widespread invasive species: This report prepared by the University of Wollongong presents an assessment of landscape-scale collective management actions for invasive species from the perspective of local councils and managers of utilities and infrastructure.
  • Pest animal and weed management survey 2016/2019/2022: This report presents custom survey results for NSW, derived from ABARES national survey of land managers. The ABARES survey focusses on pest animal and weed problems, impacts and management on agricultural land managers’ properties and in their local area, and was undertaken in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
  • Interjurisdictional analysis: The report identifies contemporary strategies and highlights innovative practices for invasive species management across Australia and globally.

Previous reviews

In 2016, we conducted a review of pest animal management and in 2014 a review of weed management in NSW. Both these reports and the Government's response are available from the following webpages:

Pest animal management

Weed management

Stay tuned

We will be updating this webpage as the review progresses. If you would like to receive updates regarding this work, you can sign up to our mailing list.