Explore our resources

A framework for the prioritisation of weeds for biocontrol within the Australian context. A report for the National Weed Biocontrol Pipeline Strategy: Initial Stage project.

A snapshot of the work of bush regenerators and the weeds they encounter in Eastern Australia.
A report by the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators. This paper draws on the results of a questionnaire-based study undertaken by AABR NSW during the fourth quarter of 2006.

This website is a collaborative venture between AgWest (data & weed expertise) and the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR) (database consultation & website management).

The Global Compendium of Weeds is a list of plant species (over 28,000 names) that have been cited in specific references (approximately 1,000) as weeds. An expert has assessed the status of the weed based on its context in each document. Sometimes additional information – such as native range, whether the plan has reported medical/herbal uses, etc – is included when available.

Weeds cost Australia $5 billion every year, with major impacts on our ecosystems, waterways and agriculture.
Weed biocontrol is a powerful tool to combat this national problem at landscape scale.

A report on developing biocontrol agents for 10 weeds of importance in Australia, including five Weeds of National Significance (WoNS): cabomba, Sagittaria, prickly acacia, silverleaf nightshade and African boxthorn. Fleabane and sowthistle are major weeds of cropping land while mother-of-millions and giant rat’s tail grass impact grazing land. Ox-eye daisy is becoming a serious environmental weed on crown land.

Aimed primarily at land managers, land management agencies and research organisations, this manual is based on collecting the minimum information agreed by the Australian Weeds Committee (AWC) as core attributes for monitoring the distribution and spread of Weeds of National Significance (WONS).

Biocontrol often forms a vital component of integrated weed management strategies and is a proven approach in the Australian context. Close to 40% of biocontrol programs have been considered successful, delivering an overall benefit-cost ratio of 23:1.

This project aimed to realise significant productivity and profitability improvements for primary producers by focusing on one piece of the national weed management puzzle – biological control, a measure which has a demonstrated collective national return on investment of at least 23:1.

This resource lists over 1,000 garden plants that are either invasive or potentially invasive, classified according to their national importance. Published by WWF Australia May 2004.

This study found 281 plants currently available in Australian nurseries present a significant risk to Australia’s grazing industries should they escape from Australian gardens and naturalise. Of these plants, one third are toxic and may harm, or even kill, livestock while almost all have been commercially available in Australia for many years.

MLA invests in weed control research and development (R&D) to create effective and long-lasting methods of eradicating weeds from pastures to create a sustainable feed base for livestock. Find reports, publications and best practice information.

Weeds continue to emerge in the Australian context, but understanding how they spread is poorly understood. This project assesses the threats and risks of weed sources as well as pathways of spread and the sensitivity of the invaded environment.

The Centre, referred to as the Weeds CRC, was established on 1 July 2001, replacing the CRC for Weed Management Systems, which operated from 1995 until 2001. Check the CRC’s website as it appeared in 2008.

Biological invasions are a major threat to Australia. Information on alien flora in Australia is collated independently by different jurisdictions, which has led to inconsistencies at the national level, hampering efficient management. The Alien Flora of Australia (AFA) is an Australian first: a nationally unified dataset that harmonises different information sources.

Endorsed by the National Biosecurity Committee in July 2011, this resource establishes a need to prioritise pest species or targets for control. The document outlines four agreed national categories for invasive species taxa, together with ‘selection criteria’ used to assign candidate taxa to these categories.

Published by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, this resource considers the decision support tools required to assist policy makers in assessing whether biocontrol is an appropriate option for weed control.

This Strategy aims to guide Australia’s future weed biocontrol research, development and extension activities for priority weeds at a national scale. It was endorsed by the Environment and Invasives Committee in July 2023.

Following a competitive process, the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and its partners have been engaged by DAFF to deliver the initial phase of work by late 2024.

This landmark 2007 report, introduced flora of Australia and its weed status by R.P. Randell lists 29,430 plant species and identifies the 2,739 naturalised species of the 26,242 introduced plant species in Australia, and 5,907 species present in Australia which have weed histories elsewhere in the world but no current history as a weed in Australia. It is these plants that are most likely to become weeds in Australia, given the right opportunities.

This CSIRO report for WWF Australia explores the environmental and agricultural impacts of invasive garden plants in Australia.

National coordination of weeds data is a priority for all levels of government in Australia and is established in national policy documents such as the Australian Weeds Strategy (AWS) 2017–2027, the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB), and the national strategies for Weeds of National Significance (WoNS). Collaboration through data sharing can assist weed managers to more effectively allocate resources, assess effectiveness of investments, and improve management outcomes.
The objective of the national weeds data collection survey was to understand the status of weeds data collection and sharing between stakeholders, and identify opportunities for data coordination at a national level.
Authors: Katherina Ng, Bo Raphael, Luke Maloney, Jessica Evans and Sandra Parsons. Research by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. Research report 21.05 April 2021

This manual provides key steps for undertaking weed biocontrol for more than 50 weeds species in south-east Australia. It provides information on:
– weeds and their background
– how to identify biocontrol agents (the weed’s natural enemies) and their potential impact on the weed
– how to source biocontrol agents
– how to redistribute these agents
– how to monitor establishment and dispersal of such agents.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) legislates a review of the state of the Australian environment every 5 years. Australia state of the environment 2021 (SoE 2021) assesses the changing condition of our natural environment across 12 themes: air quality, Antarctica, biodiversity, climate, coasts, extreme events, heritage, Indigenous, inland water, land, marine and urban.

The SoE is designed to:

– help shape strategy, policy and action
– influence behaviours of individuals, communities and businesses
– assist in assessing our actions as stewards of the Australian environment.

The 2021 report combines scientific, traditional and local knowledge to provide a rigorous, peer‑reviewed assessment of every aspect of the environment.

The Commonwealth of Australia owns the copyright in all material produced by the Department. Australia State of the Environment 2021 is licenced by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report and some content supplied by third parties. For licence conditions see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This website is a decision-support tool that provides users with the ability to interrogate individual profiles for over 700 non-native naturalised and invasive plant species within Australia and assess weed threats for regions of interest under current and predicted future climates.

The integration of modelling, spatial analysis and species’ trait information provides a comprehensive assessment and information source for these plant species under both current and future climates.

This project aimed to develop biocontrol agents for the control of ten weeds of importance in Australia. Five of these weeds are Weeds of National Significance (WoNS): cabomba, Sagittaria, prickly acacia, silverleaf nightshade and African boxthorn. Fleabane and sowthistle have become major weeds of cropping land while mother-of-millions and giant rat’s tail grass impact on grazing land. The final weed, ox-eye daisy is becoming a serious environmental weed in crown land.