Industry, community and government perspectives on biosecurity

Agriculture Victoria seeks to understand the knowledge and experience of people from across industry, community and government. Their insights will inform how we can work together and improve biosecurity to meet future challenges.

Independent consultants facilitated and reported on each engagement activity to ensure impartiality.

The draft Implementation Plan was available for public consultation from January to March 2026. The plan is currently being finalised and will be available soon. More information can be found on Engage Victoria.

Victoria’s Biosecurity Roundtable 2026

Victoria’s Biosecurity Roundtable was held at Monash University on 7 May 2026.

The event brought together 137  people from across Victoria's biosecurity system. Participants included representatives from:

  • Industry
  • Community groups
  • Traditional Owner organisations
  • Research organisations
  • Government

The Roundtable gave people an opportunity to share ideas, learn from each other and discuss practical ways to support Victoria's Biosecurity Strategy.

Working together to protect Victoria

The Roundtable focused on how people, communities and organisations can work together to protect Victoria from biosecurity threats.

Discussions focused on:

  • biosecurity awareness, education and leadership
  • preparing for outbreaks and new threats
  • biosecurity planning in communities and industries.

Speakers shared lessons and experiences

Speakers shared examples of how people are helping protect Victoria from pests, weeds and diseases.

  • Beth Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Agriculture Victoria, spoke about the progress made since Victoria's Biosecurity Strategy was released.
  • Charlotte Austin, Executive Director of Biosecurity Victoria, spoke about current biosecurity risks and the work being done across Victoria.
  • Dr Beth Cookson, Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, shared lessons from disease outbreaks in Australia and overseas.
  • Dr Zoe Vogels, Breanna Carr, Danny Le Feuvre, Andrew Christie, Jacqui Mitchell and Tony Baker spoke about the work happening in their industries and communities. They shared examples of planning for new threats, finding pests and diseases early, training people and responding to outbreaks.
  • Shana Nerenberg and Uncle Mark Little from DJANDAK spoke about Caring for Country. They shared examples of projects that manage invasive plants and animals and help protect biodiversity.

A common message from speakers was that people achieve better results when they:

  • work together
  • prepare early
  • share knowledge and experience.

Make biosecurity part of everyday life

Participants said biosecurity should be part of everyday decisions.

Many people linked biosecurity to:

  • food production
  • healthy landscapes
  • strong communities
  • local jobs.

Local networks can help drive action

Participants highlighted the important role of local leaders and trusted networks. These include:

  • industry champions
  • schools
  • community groups
  • volunteers.

They encouraged government and industry to work through existing networks and build on trusted local relationships.

Prepare early

Participants agreed that preparation is most effective before an outbreak happens.

Training, planning exercises and regular practice can help people respond more quickly and with more confidence when a pest, weed or disease is detected.

Biosecurity belongs in everyday planning

Many participants said biosecurity should be part of normal business and community planning.

They said planning should focus on practical actions that people can take before a pest, weed or disease becomes a problem.

Everyone has a role to play

A strong message from the day was that no single organisation can manage biosecurity risks alone.

People said effective biosecurity relies on cooperation between:

  • government
  • industry
  • researchers
  • Tradtional Owners
  • community groups
  • emergency management organisations.

Challenges still need attention

Many people said they had seen positive changes in planning, preparedness and partnerships across the biosecurity system.

They also identified several challenges, including:

  • limited funding and resources
  • low awareness in some parts of the community
  • workforce shortages
  • gaps in coordination between organisations
  • uncertainty about roles and responsibilities.

Key points from the Roundtable

Participants agreed:

  • Biosecurity should be part of everyday life.
  • Awareness and education remain important.
  • Local leaders and trusted networks help drive action.
  • Preparation should happen before a crisis.
  • People get better results when they work together.
  • Ongoing investment and leadership are needed to support Victoria's Biosecurity Strategy.

Actions identified for the future

At the end of the Roundtable, participants identified practical actions they could take in their workplaces, industries and communities.

Common actions included:

  • building stronger partnerships
  • raising awareness
  • improving planning
  • supporting community surveillance activities
  • making biosecurity part of  everyday practice.

Past engagement

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Victoria’s Biosecurity Roundtable was held on 20 November 2024. There were 168 participants at the event.

Victoria’s Biosecurity Strategy was the underlying foundation of presentations and conversations throughout all Roundtable sessions.

Watch presentations by keynotes speakers.

Victoria’s Biosecurity Roundtable was held on 29 and 30 November 2023. Over 200 individuals registered for the event with 18 speakers from across industry, community, Traditional Owner organisations and government.

Sessions covered:

  1. An overview of Victoria’s new Biosecurity Strategy including the five strategic goals and 20 priority actions
  2. Prevention – strategic goal 2
  3. Response – strategic goal 3
  4. Management – strategic goal 4
  5. Implementation planning
  6. Closing reflections

Strategic goals 1 and 5 – partnerships and enablers – underpinned conversation throughout all sessions.

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Throughout February and March 2023, 7 in-person and 3 online workshops were held across Victoria to identify specific, tangible ways to deliver a better biosecurity system.

This informed the development of a draft Biosecurity Strategy for Victoria, which will turn the vision from Victoria’s Biosecurity Statement into clear priorities.

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Victoria’s annual Biosecurity Roundtable was held on 12 and 13 September 2022. There were 141 people from across the biosecurity system involved in discussions.

Sessions covered:

  1. The launch of the Biosecurity Statement
  2. A biosecurity strategy for the future
  3. Biosecurity in the context of caring for Country
  4. Driving behavioural change for preparedness and resilience
  5. Biosecurity legislative reform

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What did we learn?

We’re looking to a future where everyone in Victoria understands the threats posed by harmful pests and diseases and acts to protect and enhance their communities and environment.

Discussion highlights:

  • Collective action is needed to bring to life the vision outlined in the Biosecurity Statement.
  • Participants agreed that the statement provides clarity and sets a direction for the conversations needed for the strategy development – priorities were outlined to direct the next steps in developing a strategy.
  • Our panel of Aboriginal elders and leaders shared the importance of healing Country through a whole-of-landscape approach and opportunities for improving collaboration with First Nations people.
  • Participants agreed that being prepared for biosecurity incursions is imperative and that increased awareness and communication will support collective action.
  • They also considered how legislation reform could recognise expert advice and support shared responsibility and collective action.

In 2020–21, we captured diverse perspectives and expertise across Victoria through:

  • a survey
  • one-on-one interviews
  • a workshop.

Feedback from these activities is informing how we can better work together in the future. In 2022, we established a Biosecurity Reference Group ensuring industry and community views continue to shape the future of biosecurity in Victoria. Further activities in 2022 include the development of a Biosecurity Statement and a Biosecurity Roundtable, leading to the development of a Biosecurity Strategy in 2023.

Survey

Farmers, businesses, industry groups and community members were invited to provide their views on biosecurity.

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One-on-one interviews

A series of 115 one-on-one interviews with people from across industry, community and government were conducted.

Interviewees were asked about their experiences and knowledge of biosecurity in Victoria.

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Shaping Victoria’s Biosecurity Future workshop

The Shaping Victoria’s Biosecurity Future workshop was held online on 17–18 June 2021, hosted by Agriculture Victoria.

Over 100 individuals participated from industry, community, and government, representing a wide range of sectors. Together, we explored opportunities to strengthen the biosecurity system.

The program covered 4 themes:

  1. Strengthening partnerships and engagement
  2. Modernising legislation and enhancing regulatory practice
  3. Improving our preparedness for biosecurity emergencies
  4. Enhancing information sharing and surveillance

The program was built around the findings of a series of engagement activities led by Agriculture Victoria over 2020–2021, to understand stakeholder perspectives on biosecurity. The engagement findings are summarised in the workshop framing paper.

Workshop highlights

  • Transformation of the biosecurity system is an imperative: incremental change is not enough to meet the growing challenges and pressures.
  • Victoria needs a more collective approach to biosecurity, drawing on the skills and knowledge of community, industry and government.
  • Biosecurity cannot be done alone: it needs engagement across the system, including building knowledge and capacity of community and industry to share responsibility.
  • A good biosecurity system is an enabler: an investment, rather than a cost, for farmers, industry, community, government.
  • There are many positives to build on: Victoria and Australia take biosecurity seriously; there are many success stories.
  • Biosecurity stakeholders need clarity and transparency in their roles and responsibilities.
  • Collaborative models should be built into the legislation: to shift from the current, outdated approach.
  • The legislation needs greater harmonisation across states and jurisdictions
  • Stakeholders need genuine opportunities to shape the direction of biosecurity legislative reform.
  • Biosecurity is more than just agriculture: a stronger system will recognise how biosecurity protects communities and the environment, and the individuals and organisations working in these sectors.
  • Preparing for biosecurity emergencies is not ‘set-and-forget’: it is something we need to continually build and adapt with community and industry.
  • Improving the quality, integration, accessibility and consistency of data, technology and surveillance networks will improve surveillance and information sharing.

Download the full reports:

The ‘What was said’ Report shares insights from the conversations held during the workshop.

The 2019 Victorian Biosecurity Roundtable started the discussion about the future of biosecurity. The conversations began to define biosecurity, explore the role of regulation, and start to develop a shared understanding of the system.

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Page last updated: 23 Oct 2026