HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

WHAT IS A WEED?

A weed is a plant that has been introduced from another country or does not naturally occur in the area (i.e. introduced native), growing where it is unwanted, or taking the place of desired plants.

WHAT IS SO BAD ABOUT WEEDS?

Weeds are a significant threat to our unique natural environment. They threaten the survival of hundreds of native plants and animals in NSW alone. They also impact the price of food, human health through allergies and asthma, recreational activities, and our local industry and economy.

DO I HAVE A LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION TO WEEDS?

Yes. Under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015, every person has a responsibility to prevent, eliminate or minimise the biosecurity risk posed by weeds. This is known as your general biosecurity duty.

Plants that have been identified as posing a significant biosecurity risk in NSW or to the North Coast are known as priority weeds. There are often laws against selling priority weeds.

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT A ‘PRIORITY WEED’ IS?

The Biosecurity Act 2015 and Biosecurity Regulation 2017 list state priority weeds. The North Coast Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan lists regional priority weeds. At the time of writing, all priority weeds relevant to the Far North Coast region have been included in this book. For the most up to date information, see the NSW DPI WeedWise website.

HOW DO I USE THIS BOOK?

You will find each weed listed in the appendix under both its common and botanical name. Weeds are categorised according to their growth habit- i.e. grasses, ground layers, vines and scramblers, etc. At the top of each weed profile is a QR code, linking to the relevant NSW DPI WeedWise webpage that holds detailed information on plant ID and other features of that weed. In the centre of the weed images is a coloured circle listing the weed’s priority status, and the above corresponding coloured bar will inform you of the action that needs to be taken for that weed. For example, ‘Contain’ weeds need to be controlled by the landowner, while ‘Eradicate’ and ‘Prevention’ weeds need to be reported to Rous County Council.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A ‘PRIORITY WEED’

In this book, each weed profile contains a coloured circle which represents the level of threat that particular weed poses to our region, and the associated requirements for dealing with that weed.

To uphold your general biosecurity duty and avoid potential fines, it is important to read and understand the following information and what it means for you as a community stakeholder under the Biosecurity Act 2015. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Weed Biosecurity team and we will be more than happy to assist you.