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NOOSA BIOSECURITY PLAN 2026-2031

Environmental Services Manager, Ben Derrick · Environmental Services | Strategy and Environment

Executive summary

The Draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026–2031 has been prepared to guide the coordinated management of invasive plants and animals across Noosa Shire over the next five years. The Plan responds to Council’s obligations under the Biosecurity Act 2014 and supports the delivery of Council’s Corporate Plan and Environment Strategy by addressing biosecurity risks to biodiversity, agricultural productivity, community amenity and public safety. The Plan adopts a risk-based, evidence-informed approach to prioritising invasive species management across all land tenures. It includes actions focused on prevention, early detection and rapid response, containment of established species, and community capacity building to support shared responsibility for biosecurity outcomes. A risk and opportunity assessment has been undertaken in accordance with Council’s Enterprise Risk and Opportunity Management Framework. This assessment identifies that, without coordinated intervention, biosecurity risks are predominantly rated High to Extreme. Implementation of the Draft Plan is expected to significantly reduce these risks, with most risks reduced to Medium and within Council’s acceptable tolerance levels. A residual High risk remains in relation to the potential establishment of prohibited biosecurity matter (e.g. fire ants), reflecting the inherently severe consequences associated with such incursions and the need for ongoing monitoring and rapid response capability. It is proposed that Council approve the Draft Biosecurity Plan for the purpose of community engagement. This will enable targeted consultation with landholders, community groups, industry, and government stakeholders to ensure the Plan reflects local knowledge, priorities and expectations. Following completion of the engagement process, a further report will be presented to Council summarising submissions and recommending any amendments prior to final adoption.

Recommendation

That Council:

  1. Note the report by the Coordinator Biosecurity to the General Committee dated 9 June 2026 for the Draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026 – 2031;
  2. Approve the Draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026–2031 provided at Attachment 2, for the purposes of community engagement;
  3. Authorise the Chief Executive Officer to undertake community consultation on the Draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026–2031 in accordance with Council’s Community Engagement Plan provided at Attachment 3; and
  4. Note that a further report will be presented to Council following completion of the community engagement process, including a summary of submissions and any proposed amendments to the Draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026–2031.

Report

for biodiversity and sustainable living goals of improving the condition and extent of our natural ecosystems and adopting sustainable agricultural practices. The Plan does not consider fauna species protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 that may be a nuisance to some residents, such as flying-foxes, magpies, brush turkeys and snakes. The purpose of the Plan is to manage invasive plant and animal biosecurity risks to people biodiversity, and the local economy based on priorities and actions that are reasonable and practical for the community and land managers. A biosecurity risk assessment using the standardised approach developed by Biosecurity Queensland has identified the highest priority invasive species, their management feasibility, and appropriate management approach across the Noosa Shire. Invasive species have been categorised into four management objectives based on the risk assessment results: Prevention, Eradication, Containment and Asset-based protection. Although landowners have a biosecurity obligation for all scheduled species, identifying priorities allows a planned approach to invasive species management, particularly for large landholders like Council. The Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026 -2031 applies the Biosecurity Act 2014 at a local level and covers: • Roles and responsibilities of Council, other public agencies and private landowners • Processes for reporting of invasive species and management responses • Shire-wide risk assessment to establish priorities for managing invasive species • Reasonable and practical measures for managing invasive species through prevention, eradication, containment and asset-based protection depending on the extent of infestation and management feasibility • Methods and timing for management of invasive species • Invasive species management tools and support • Regulation and compliance • Information capture, methods used for detection and reporting to broaden current knowledge of the distribution and abundance of invasive species An Implementation Action Plan forms part of the Biosecurity Plan. The Implementation Plan has twenty actions including research and monitoring, community capacity building, planning and on- ground works.

Report details

Index: 21.26 - Pest Management