1. Introduction

This national threat abatement plan (TAP) has been developed to address the key threatening process ‘Dieback caused by the root-rot fungus[1] Phytophthora cinnamomi, which is listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act). The TAP establishes a national framework to guide and coordinate Australia’s response to P. cinnamomi. It sets out the actions necessary to abate impacts of the listed key threatening process and was developed to comply with the requirements under the EPBC Act for the development of threat abatement plans. It identifies the research, management and other actions needed in Australia’s response to this pathogen and replaces the threat abatement plan published in 2001 (Environment Australia, 2001).

The plan has been developed with the involvement and cooperation of a broad range of stakeholders, but the making or adoption of this plan does not necessarily indicate the commitment of individual stakeholders to undertaking any specific actions. Proposed actions may be subject to modification over the life of the plan due to developments in understanding of the organism and its impacts.

The Australian Government Department of the Environment (Department of the Environment) is responsible for preparing this TAP. Its development has been informed by:

• the current threat abatement plan (published in 2001)
• a review and evaluation of the 2001 TAP undertaken by the Australian Government (CPSM, 2006)
• information provided by key stakeholders between 2010 and 2013.

This plan should be read in conjunction with the document ‘Background: Threat abatement plan for disease in natural ecosystems caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi’ (the background document) (Department of the Environment, 2014). The background document provides information on the scope of the problem; the characteristics, biology and distribution of the pathogen; impacts on the environment and management practices (as at 2013).

The goal of this TAP is to identify and protect environmental assets (threatened species and ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act and other matters of national environmental significance) from the impacts of P. cinnamomi. It integrates: strategies to prevent P. cinnamomi spreading into areas that are free of disease; strategies to reduce the impacts in infested areas; and recovery actions for the conservation of biodiversity assets currently being impacted.

The Department of the Environment recognises that a number of the state and territory governments that own land impacted by P. cinnamomi have developed management plans and operational guides to abate this threat within their own jurisdictions. This TAP aims to complement state and territory approaches to managing P. cinnamomi.

Although this TAP applies to P. cinnamomi, the Department of the Environment acknowledges that recent diagnostic techniques have allowed other species of Phytophthora to be identified in Australia. Some of these species may be widespread and can lead to disease impacts similar to P. cinnamomi within native ecosystems. For further information on these species, a reference list is provided at Appendix B in the background document (Department of the Environment 2014). The control of pathways for the spread of P. cinnamomi and the development of improved control and remediation tools and techniques will also reduce the potential spread and impacts of other Phytophthora species.