NOOSA BIOSECURITY PLAN 2026-2031 · Report

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                        6 OCTOBER 2026



RECOMMENDATION
That Council
   A. Note the report by the Environmental Services Manager to the General Committee dated 6
      October 2026 regarding the final Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026-2031 following completion of
      community consultation;
   B. Note the submissions received as summarised in Attachment 1 and thank the submitters for
      their input into the Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2020;
   C. Adopt the Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026-2031 as shown in Attachment 2;
   D. Authorise the CEO to make minor changes as required to the Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026-
      2031 if required prior to publishing on Council's website; and
   E. Note that subject to Council adoption of the Biosecurity Plan 2026-2031 any additional
      resourcing requested to deliver the plan will be addressed via annual budget processes.


REPORT
Biosecurity is defined as efforts to prevent, respond to and recover from pests and diseases that
threaten the economy and the environment. Under the Queensland Biosecurity Act 2014 all public
and private landowners have a general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable and practical
measures to prevent or minimise biosecurity risks on human health, amenity, economy and the
environment.

The development of the draft Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026-2031 (Plan) is consistent with the Noosa
Environment Strategy 2019 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 Plan 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