Information for Landholders
Owners and occupiers of rural and urban land are reminded that it is everyone’s General Biosecurity Duty to control weeds on their land.
An occupier of land who is given an Individual Biosecurity Direction or who enters into a Biosecurity Undertaking to control weeds, must control all weeds on the land as required under the terms of that direction or undertaking.
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, failure to do so leaves owners and occupiers liable for fines and further compliance action.
It is every landholder’s responsibility to be aware of weeds issues. The aim of weed control is to destroy the pest plant, deplete weed seed reserves in the soil and constantly inhibit future growth of the weeds. In some cases, it is necessary to also remove stolons and rhizomes, which may allow the plant to propagate vegetatively.
South East Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan
Where do i start?
Download these handy resources to create your own Integrated Weed Management Plan. Council’s Biosecurity officers can help you with this process so please feel free to call us for assistance.
Know your weeds - use the NSW WeedWise app to find out more about the weeds you have. Some will spread from seed, others will spread vegetatively, some do both. Learn which weeds need to be controlled at a certain time of year and how best to dispose of them.
Generally, control the weeds you have least of, first. Getting some weeds crossed off your list will be a satisfying start.
Remove weed seed sources - mature plants should have their flowers removed before they have a chance to set seed. Often there are too many weeds to tackle all at once. Ensuring the existing weeds on your property cannot spread by setting seed is a good start and a way to ‘contain' the source weed plants.
Consider physically removing the isolated weeds where possible before any herbicides are applied. Some can be chipped out first. This saves on herbicide and gives you a good head start.
Farm Biosecurity
Farm Biosecurity covers many aspects of land and livestock management, below are links to some useful online tools for managing Biosecurity on your farm.
What is farm biosecurity?
Farm biosecurity is a set of measures designed to protect a property from the entry and spread of pests, disease and weeds. Farm biosecurity is your responsibility and that of every person visiting or working on your property.
Producers play a key role in protecting Australian plant and livestock industries from pests and diseases by implementing sound biosecurity measures on-farm.
If a new pest or disease becomes established on your farm, it will affect your business through increased costs (for monitoring, production practices, additional chemical use and labour), reduced productivity (in yield and/or quality) or loss of markets. Early detection and immediate reporting of an exotic pest or disease increase the chance of effective and efficient eradication.
The Farm Biosecurity program is an important part of Australia’s emergency animal disease and exotic plant pest surveillance systems. Surveillance allows us to preserve existing trade opportunities and provides evidence of Australia’s pest and animal disease status to support access to international markets.
Visit the Farm Biosecurity website or download the Farm Biosecurity Action Planner
The best defence against pests and diseases is to implement sound biosecurity practices on your farm. Quick and simple measures built into everyday practice will help protect your farm and your future.
Use the Farm Biosecurity Action Planner to assess the risks on your farm and to take steps to address them. Refer to the planner periodically to check on progress and prioritise actions.
Farm Biosecurity App
The Farm Biosecurity App is for people on the go who want to bolster biosecurity on their farm. It’s based on the six biosecurity essentials, covering every aspect of your day-to-day activities. Download it directly to your phone or device.
Create your unique, customised farm profile and toolkit of resources HERE
Property sale and purchase
The purchase of rural land is a major decision and the presence of weeds, and the ongoing cost of managing weeds is often not considered. This is especially the case as more people with little or no experience in rural land management are moving away from the city and making the 'tree change.'
Before signing a contract, prospective purchasers should carefully consider the following:
- What are considered to be priority weeds in this area?
- Are there infestations of priority weeds on the land?
- Have weed infestations been managed in the past?
- What will be the ongoing cost of weed control?
- If the land is to be used for farming, will weed infestations result in production losses?
Privacy laws prevent Council from disclosing weed infestation information to prospective buyers without the owner’s consent.
A Biosecurity Direction is a notice issued by a Local Control Authority to an owner/occupier of land that has unmanaged priority weeds growing upon it. A Biosecurity Direction is issued in accordance with the Biosecurity Act 2015 if an occupier fails to meet their obligations to control priority weeds as directed by Council.
Before you purchase a property, seek independent advice and/or request certification under Schedule 7 Clause 28 of the Biosecurity Act 2015.
Seek independent advice
Not all properties affected by significant or priority weeds have Biosecurity Directions on them. Unless Council is notified of an existing problem, some properties severely infested with weeds may go undetected for some years and be subsequently sold along with the weed problem. During your initial inspection of the property, you should arrange to have a reputable Weed Control Operator accompany you.
Certification
Your solicitor should request a Schedule 7 Clause 28 Certificate (under the Biosecurity Act 2015) from a certified Weeds Officer, which details if there are any weed control notices in force over a particular parcel of land and as to any outstanding expenses payable or any resulting charges on the land.
The small cost of an independent inspection and the certificates may save you thousands of dollars in weed control costs.
More information: