The National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement (NEBRA) establishes the national arrangements for responding to an incursion of exotic pests and diseases that impact on the environment and our way of life.
NEBRA version 2.0 was released in January 2022 and enables greater involvement of environmental stakeholders in decision making.
Version 2.0 includes the following key changes:
- Inclusion of a transition to management provision to enable national cost-sharing for activity following an unsuccessful eradication attempt.
- More clarity and detail for non-signatory participants to support key decision-making.
- The removal of business activity from the national significance criteria.
- Amendments to protocols including those relating to the meeting procedures to provide clarity and transparency.
- Structural and editorial amendments that align the NEBRA with other emergency response deeds;
- for exotic pests and diseases primarily impacting plant and animal industries
- to improve the usability of the deed
- improve consistency across the deeds for biosecurity stakeholders.
The NEBRA was first signed by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments in January 2012. It is reviewed every 5 years or earlier if required.
Download
| Document | File size |
|---|---|
| National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement 2.0 PDF | 855 KB |
| National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement 2.0 DOCX | 293 KB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
NEBRA Custodian
The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, in its role as the custodian of the NEBRA, assists emergency response committees by providing guidance and interpretation on the agreement and plays an administration role for cost sharing parties during the life of an emergency response. The Custodian is also responsible for reviewing, maintaining and updating the NEBRA.
The custodian is available to assist with general matters as they relate to the NEBRA and can be contacted at NEBRA@aff.gov.au
National Biosecurity Management Consultative Committee (NBMCC)
The NBMCC is the name given to the technical committee that provides technical and expert advice to the National Biosecurity Management Group (NBMG) to support determinations on whether a national eradication response is recommended.
This consultative committee is generally formed on an ad-hoc basis, composed of members with appropriate expertise for the incident. The Consultative Committee for Introduced Marine Pests (CCIMPE) is the technical committee that advises the NBMG in relation to marine pest incursions being considered under the NEBRA.
National Biosecurity Management Group (NBMG)
The National Biosecurity Management Group (NBMG) is the peak, national biosecurity decision-making forum in the event of an incident of a pest or disease. The NBMG determines if the incident is considered nationally significant, technically feasible to eradicate and cost beneficial to do so. The NBMG will also consider the response plan for eradication and its associated costs.
Current national pest and disease outbreaks
Current pest and disease outbreaks that are being managed by a national eradication response program under the NEBRA are listed on the Outbreak website. This website also includes national eradication responses being managed under other emergency response arrangements such as the Emergency Plant Pest Response Agreement and the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement.
Annual closure of incidents considered by the National Biosecurity Management Group
Incidents that are referred to the NBMCC and have not meet the criteria under the NEBRA have been considered and closed by the NBMG on an annual basis. These incidents are not eligible for a nationally cost shared eradication response under the NEBRA.
Incidents that do not meet the NEBRA criteria may not always require ongoing activities or in some cases may be under a management plan or an eradication program lead by the jurisdiction where the incident is located. These details can be found on state and territory biosecurity websites.
Incidents resolved by the National Biosecurity Management Consultative Committee (NBMCC) and the National Biosecurity Management Group under the National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement (NEBRA) is available for download below.
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National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement (NEBRA) review
An independent review into the implementation and effectiveness of the NEBRA agreement in the five years since its commencement was completed in 2017. A revised NEBRA has been endorsed by the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) to reflect its proposed response to the five-year review, where applicable. A final revised NEBRA will be submitted for consideration by all governments soon.
Consultation – A revised NEBRA
The NBC’s approach to each of the review recommendations and the reasons behind these positions is provided at the link below.
NBC sought views on a draft revised NEBRA available for download below however, please note this is not a final or approved draft. Public consultation closed 12 July 2019.
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Final Review report 2017
All submissions and feedback received during the review were considered by independent consultant KPMG who produced the final report.
The final report has been provided to the NBC which considered the findings and recommendations in conjunction with the report; Priorities for Australia’s biosecurity system: an independent review of the capacity of the national biosecurity system and its underpinning intergovernmental agreement.
Download
| Document | File size |
|---|---|
| National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement - Five Year Review PDF | 2 MB |
| National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement - Five Year Review DOCX | 292 KB |
The published report may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines as the report has not been prepared by the department.
The review
A requirement of the NEBRA is that the agreement is reviewed within five years of commencement. The recommendations of the review may then be used to amend the NEBRA or guide its future application in order to strengthen Australia’s ability to respond to environmental biosecurity threats.
The review was not intended to be an audit of operational activities for responses managed under the NEBRA, but a review of the overall operation of the agreement.
In January and February 2017, targeted consultations took place in each state and territory with both government and non-government stakeholders. Over 150 non‑government stakeholder groups were invited to consultation sessions across Australia, with more than 30 groups participating.
Written submissions were also accepted between 18 January 2017 and 17 March 2017.
Discussion paper
A discussion paper was developed in 2016 to guide targeted consultation and written submissions. The paper provided a background to the NEBRA, its key policies and processes, and highlighted key themes for discussion under the review.
Download
| Document | File size |
|---|---|
| NEBRA Five Year Review Discussion Paper PDF | 404 KB |
| NEBRA Five Year Review Discussion Paper DOCX | 660 KB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
Submissions
Twenty submissions were received in response to the Discussion paper, including nine from government agencies/bodies and 11 from non-government organisations.
Thank you to those who contributed written submissions to the review. Submissions can be viewed below.
These submissions were not prepared by the department and may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines. If you require an accessible version of a submission, please contact its author.
Download NEBRA review submissions
Published submissions may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines as they have not been prepared by the department.
Contact
For further information, please contact the NEBRA Secretariat.