Communique meeting 1 September 2016

1 September 2016

The Biosecurity Advisory Committee (the Committee) held its sixth meeting in Sydney at the Nature Conservation Council office on 1 September 2016.  The meeting opened with introductions of the staff from the Nature Conservation Council, National Parks Association NSW and recently appointed DPI NSW Chief Veterinary Officer, Ms Christine Middlemiss.

The Committee discussed key issues and progress in the development of subordinate legislation.  Of particular note, the status of draft regulations, preparation of the Regulatory Impact Statement for statutory consultation later this year, the proposed training package to support implementation of the Act, especially the need to ensure all authorised officers and local weeds officers are trained in the legislation and an update of the review of systems analysis.

Under the Committee’s terms of reference, they are required to produce a State of Biosecurity Report.  Ongoing discussion on the structure and process for measuring performance was a key topic of conversation.

Related to this, the department outlined key performance indicators that will measure performance of the Act’s implementation in 2017.

Other key topical issues considered were; the need to ensure there is a strong focus on biosecurity risks to the environment and that recreational users are engaged;  impact of the NRC Report into Pest Animal Management, and the NSW Government’s response to the Australian Government’s review of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity.

For updates go visit Biosecurity legislative framework to protect NSW.