The following information was circulated by Jeff Kraak Fertilizer Australia and has been reproduced here on their behalf.
If you are involved with soil sampling in SE Queensland or around Murwillumbah (NSW), please consider the following information about red imported fire ants.
The conditions for sending soil samples from the fire ant infested area to NSW are now included in the Biosecurity (Fire Ant) Emergency Order (No. 4). This means that the NSW Department of Primary Industry group permit (reference: RDOC23/200152[v1]) is cancelled and that soil samples sent to NSW from the fire ant infested area must comply with the Emergency Order. You can find the latest information about the NSW fire ant regulations on this webpage: Red imported fire ants | Department of Primary Industries (nsw.gov.au) It includes a link to the Emergency Order, which should be read to ensure the movement is compliant. The Order is subject to changes, and it is the customer’s responsibility to remain compliant if new orders are made.
If you are involved in the movement of animal manure or compost, please read the information in the Emergency Order (No. 4).
Background
Soil and other carrier material moved from the fire ant infested area in Queensland to New South Wales have been regulated for several years. In late July 2023, a fire ant nest was identified at Tallebudgera, within five kilometres of the NSW border. Following this finding, a biosecurity emergency was declared on 16 August 2023 and biosecurity controls at the NSW border have increased.
On 24th November 2023, fire ants were detected in South Murwillumbah, NSW. A fire ant movement control area is now in place in a 5km zone around where the nests were found.
The current Biosecurity (Fire Ant) Emergency Order (No 4) was made on the 21st of December 2023 and movement restrictions apply to the fire ant infested area in Queensland and the movement control zone in NSW.
When sending soil samples from the fire ant infested area of SE Qld or within 5km of the Murwillumbah infestation site to a NSW lab, you must follow the requirements of the Emergency Order to help reduce the spread of fire ants.
In short, the Emergency Order requirements are as follows:
- Prepare the soil samples in batches of no more than 1kg per sample
- Inspect all parts of the soil samples to ensure they are free of ants
- Freeze the soil samples so that all part of the mass reach a maximum temperature of -18°C for at least 48 hours to kill fire ants.
- Complete a record of movement declaration form on the online platform (more information about the record of movement, including the link to the form, can be found here).
- Samples coming from a property in the fire ant infested area in Queensland where fire ants are currently present or have been found in the last seven years must not be moved to NSW unless the property is subject to an insect growth regulator treatment regime for which the treatment is applied three times per year, and at least eight weeks have passed since the initial application of insect growth regulator.
If you are sending soil samples from the fire ant infested area in SE Qld or within 5km of the Murwillumbah infestation site to labs in other states, e.g. Victoria, please follow the biosecurity requirements for that state. If there are no fire ant restrictions in place for that state, we recommend you inspect all parts of the soil samples to ensure they are free of fire ants and freeze the soil samples in batches of no more than 1 kg each for at least 48 hours before freighting the soil interstate.
Please consider passing this information on to relevant people within your networks. If you need more information about red imported fire ants and the Emergency Order requirements, please call NSW DPI biosecurity helpline or email invasive.species@dpi.nsw.gov.au
End copy from communication circulated by Fertilizer Australia.
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