Plant Health Australia (PHA), the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Agriculture Victoria, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, and Animal Health Australia (AHA), have partnered to create the National Biosecurity Training Hub – Australia’s first one-stop shop for biosecurity training.
Biosecurity is a national priority to protect our food security, our agriculture industry, and the environment. The focus on preserving the Australian way of life continues to drive the demand for training resources to support biosecurity preparedness and response activities and ensure that the necessary skills and knowledge are in place to respond to and manage biosecurity incidents.
Acting CEO of AHA Dr Samantha Allan said partnerships and collaboration are key to ensuring the online training programs integrated into each organisation are well identified and promoted.
The development of a National Biosecurity Hub is a key step in the right direction to continue to achieve collective action on biosecurity threats and ensure all users of the system have access to best practice information,
Dr Samantha Allan, AHA CEO.
Dr Susanna Driessen, PHA’s General Manager, Emergency Response said pressure on Australia’s biosecurity system requires an increased need for governments and industry to work together to ensure we can meet the rising demand for expertise and knowledge.
“A collaborative approach necessitates the need for accessible online training resources to ensure we have the capacity and the capability to respond effectively,” Dr Driessen said.
The National Biosecurity Training Hub (the Hub) offers a central location with a database of biosecurity training resources to help reduce the duplication of effort and costs associated with developing and delivering biosecurity training.
The Hub unifies and streamlines training to facilitate national visibility of biosecurity-related training across government, industry and community in a single location. The Hub is a centralised platform that supports biosecurity prevention, preparedness, response and recovery by providing users with access to the latest biosecurity-related training materials and courses suited to different industries, levels and skill sets.
Designed with learners in mind, the Hub is easy to navigate with a library of plant, animal and aquatic biosecurity training that is searchable using a topic, keyword, location and preferred method of delivery. The quality assurance protocols ensure each course listed meets the required standard.
Australia’s biosecurity system is built on shared responsibility for shared benefit. This initiative demonstrates the power of partnerships in improving cross-sectoral national biosecurity capability and capacity to prepare us for future biosecurity risks
Sarah Corcoran, PHA CEO.
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The Hub features 64 online training courses with plans for continuous expansion. Organisations with biosecurity training packages and who are interested in contributing to the Hub are encouraged to make contact with PHA via nbth@phau.com.au.