Weed Spotters

Who are Weed Spotters?

Weed Spotters assist the Victorian Government by looking out for and reporting State prohibited weeds. These are a group of high-risk invasive plants that are declared under the Victorian Invasive Plants Classifications.

The Weed Spotters program is for those who work in an industry or who are part of a group where they are likely to spend time in places where State prohibited weeds could be found.

Weed Spotters include:

• contractors
• consultants
• horticulturalists
• local government staff
• other agency staff including Parks Victoria, waterway managers and Catchment Management Authorities.

There are a range of training activities and publications available to Weed Spotters to assist them to identify State prohibited weeds.

Training includes:

• weed identification
• distinguishing characteristics of the target weeds
• how to make a State prohibited weed report.

Publications include:

• a training manual
• State prohibited weed cards
• subscription to the Weed Spotter newsletter.

The information gathered by Weed Spotters helps to locate new infestations of State prohibited weeds in order to manage them.

Where to look for new weeds?

Weed Spotters can look for State prohibited weed species in a wide variety of environments including:

• home gardens
• restaurants
• rivers and creeks
• wetlands
• ponds
• dams
• natural areas
• farming areas
• roadsides
• cemeteries
• car parks
• waste places
• urban fringes.

They may also be found for sale at the following places:

• nurseries
• garden centres
• markets
• catalogues
• in the media
• on the internet.

Which weeds to look for?

Weed Spotters are only being asked to look for and report State prohibited weeds.

This does not include common and widespread weeds even if they are new to one part of the State but widespread in others.

Want to become a Weed Spotter?

If you would like to register to become a Weed Spotter, you can:

• contact the Agriculture Victoria Customer Service Centre on 136 186
• send an email to weed.spotters@agriculture.vic.gov.au and provide your name, postal address, daytime phone number, email address and any industry or other relevant group affiliation
• sign up to become a Weed Spotter online.

How to report weeds and give feedback

Weed Spotters play a valuable role in informing Agriculture Victoria on the location of State prohibited weeds.

When making a report, remember to include the following details to help Agriculture Victoria Officers to follow up on your report as quickly as possible:

• your name
• your contact phone number
• your email address
• the name and a brief description of the plant you wish to report
• the number of plants you have found or spotted
• the location where the plant was found or spotted (specific references to streets or landmarks are helpful)
• photos of the plant.

Weed Spotters will be kept informed of the status of their report throughout the process.

Agriculture Victoria does not ask Weed Spotters to become involved in the on-ground management of these weeds.

Newsletter

The Weed Spotter newsletter keeps Weed Spotters up to date on the latest news in the Agriculture Victoria High Risk Invasive Plants program.

State prohibited weed wall calendar

If you would like a copy of the State prohibited weed annual wall calendar, then please send an email to weed.spotters@agriculture.vic.gov.au or you can download an electronic copy here.

Privacy policy

The personal information you provide will be used by the department to communicate with you about the Weed Spotter program. De-identified data may be used for program reporting.

The department manages your personal information in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, and will not disclose your personal information to any other organisations without your prior consent or unless authorised by law.

It is not essential that you provide all listed personal information to become a Weed Spotter.

If you choose not to provide a postal address then you will not be able to receive the annual calendar.

If you choose not to provide an email address then you may not receive some notifications that are only provided by email.

All weed reports made by Weed Spotters will be kept strictly confidential.

If you wish to access information held about you please contact the department's privacy officer at privacy@agriculture.vic.gov.au