BUILDING BETTER BIOSECURITY CONVERSATIONS

17 September 2026

What happens when landowners, developers, councils and environmental professionals come together to look at biosecurity from different perspectives?

Melanie Findlay, Matthew Dunlop and Stephanie Howell from our Energy, Environment & Agriculture team attended the Central Region Biosecurity Forum on September 1, held in Rockhampton. Among those attending were representatives from local councils, landowners, project officers and developers, and other agents of specialised fields of particular biosecurity concern, such as ecologists and environmental officers.

The diversity of the presentations brought to light different aspects of biosecurity from various perspectives. Each speaker discussed biosecurity and how it pertained to their specific area of work and educated the attendees by offering insight from an angle most had not taken into consideration. For example, hearing from a landowner as to how biosecurity impacts them on a daily basis and the importance of having a strict biosecurity management plan for their families’ generational use of the land was not something the developers had taken into consideration, as they only deal with the land over a brief period of time.

As beautifully stated by one of the presenting landowners, “‘bio’ means life, so ‘biosecurity’ means ‘life security’”. Many eyes were opened hearing from the other side’s perspective, and it led to some amazing conversations between the guests.

The overall take-home message from the forum was the need for more open conversations between all parties involved within a renewables project, or any project where a landowner’s values regarding biosecurity on their land need to be addressed. If the intention of all parties involved with a project is to have the project be successful and not detriment the landowner or Australia’s land, then why not create a professional relationship upfront and make an effort to understand what the land needs first?

No one knows their land better than the landowner, and no one ever wants to feel taken advantage of or be treated as just a number. Some projects go for decades, and there is a strong need for a symbiotic relationship between the landowners and the project officers to ensure compliance and successful rehabilitation after the project has ceased.

The presentations also provided updates to areas of biosecurity concern such as fire ant prevention, and the significant concerns that have arisen with the recent confirmed cases of bird flu across the nation. Representatives from local councils and State Government offered insight into proposed projects such as washdown facilities and opportunities to promote education about biosecurity.

The forum was an incredible success, with all guests leaving with a better understanding about biosecurity in general, as well as some new food for thought to take home and process.

We thank everyone who was involved with creating such an informative and supportive forum where all guests were able to contribute and feel comfortable in an environment to share how biosecurity personally impacts them or their area of work.

During Beef Week 2024, our firm participated in a panel discussion with AuctionsPlus about biosecurity risks and issues related to land access. View the panel discussion HERE.

Please do not hesitate to contact our experienced local team to discuss how we can assist you.