The Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA), which hosts Biosecurity Commons, has had a significant impact on biosecurity over the past two decades.
And the recent announcement of a further three years of Commonwealth funding opens even more possibilities for the pioneering research centre.
The $6.4m government grant will allow it to continue collaborative biosecurity research to protect the nation’s agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries, environment, and way of life.
It also demonstrates belief in what CEBRA can achieve and recognition for its contribution to the sector.
While CEBRA collaborates with global partners, its work providing expert biosecurity risk analysis and advice to the Australian and New Zealand governments has been particularly impactful.
The Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS) was developed in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and has been implemented with significant results to help manage imports.
Inspecting every import consignment for biosecurity risk material at the border would be expensive and impractical so the CBIS allows importers and suppliers of selected products, who demonstrate consistent compliance with Australia’s biosecurity requirements, to qualify for reduced intervention at the border.
This allows DAFF to focus their efforts and finite resources on areas of higher biosecurity risk.
DAFF uses it to screen more than 70 product pathways and it is estimated to have saved more than 100,000 inspection hours and $18m on intervention, also considerably reducing congestion in our ports, with smoother clearance of goods for compliant importers.
In another collaboration with DAFF, the landmark CEBRA Value model estimated the value of Australia’s biosecurity system, effectively identifying a dollar value of the importance of having a biosecurity system in place.
When modelled over 50 years, the value of the biosecurity system was estimated to be $314 billion in net present value, representing an average return of $30 for every dollar invested by the Australian Government.
Already adopted in Australia, the Value model continues to help decision-makers determine how best to maximise investment in biosecurity activities across the system. This approach is now being applied in an ambitious new project to value New Zealand’s biosecurity system.
CEBRA CEO, Professor Andrew Robinson from the School of BioSciences and the School of Mathematics and Statistics, said: “Biosecurity is an incredibly important undertaking that touches everyone. It helps protect the things we value – our agriculture, our environment, our way of life, and our economy – from the potentially disastrous impacts of invasive species.
“The best part is that biosecurity is stronger when it’s shared.”
There is no better example of this sharing ethos than Biosecurity Commons.
Biosecurity Commons, which is hosted within CEBRA and supported by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), is a ground-breaking platform for modelling and analysing biosecurity risk and response.
The platform aims to tackle one of the major issues in biosecurity – limited collaboration and the creation of work that is rarely shared, reused or improved upon.
Applying the cutting-edge research produced by CEBRA and other partners, Biosecurity Commons is at the forefront of collaboration with industry and government entities across all levels – local councils, state authorities, and the Commonwealth – to significantly improve the estimation and management of critical biosecurity threats.
The team tackles contemporary issues such as Buffel grass in South Australia, Red Imported Fire Ants in and around Brisbane, fruit fly surveillance in Victoria and Potato Cyst Nematode area freedom in Tasmania.
By working with this diversity of stakeholders, Biosecurity Commons is becoming instrumental in proactively defending our environment and agricultureagainst emerging threats yet to arrive at our border.
It allows organisations to rigorously assess biosecurity risk, and design effective and efficient surveillance and control programs.
Biosecurity Commons is currently being used by Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries through its Cooperative Surveillance (CoSurv) project which integrates field and lab data on exotic, priority and endemic pests into a single risk-assessment framework.
Biosecurity Commons standardises those inputs, runs validated models, and delivers clear pest-risk cards outlining likelihood, confidence and recommended actions, sharpening decisions for regulators and industry.
Dr John Alawneh, CoSurv lead, said: “Biosecurity Commons gives us a rigorous baseline. When its outputs are combined with specialist insight and the wider community of practice, we see why risks change and what measures will keep them in check.”
Collaborations like this demonstrate the effect the platform is already having as it establishes itself as a solution for decision-makers and researchers looking to respond efficiently to biosecurity threats.
Hamish Holewa, Director of Planet Research Data Commons, ARDC, said: “Australia’s biosecurity is enhanced through collaborations based on consistent, accessible data and modelling. The ARDC is excited to see the value of enduring national research infrastructure demonstrated through the broad use of Biosecurity Commons across sectors to enhance Australia’s capacity to understand and manage biosecurity risks.”
With funding secured, and projects like Biosecurity Commons prospering, CEBRA will continue to build on 19 years of significant impact and influence to help maintain our way of life.
