Changes

Olearia virgata, Olsynium philippii, Ranunculus crenatus, Ranunculus creticus and Ranunculus gouanii have been added to the ‘Plant species requiring further assessment’ BICON case and are therefore not permitted entry into Australian territory.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers of nursery stock and seed, customs brokers, and department staff.

Background:
The department has completed a Weed Risk Assessment of the species listed above and determined there was insufficient information to assess the species, as a result the species are not permitted entry into Australian territory.

• Olearia virgata was assessed as having a mixture of weedy and non-weedy traits. This species will continue to be assessed if additional information is made available regarding its allelopathic potential, toxicity to humans, shade tolerance, generative time, dispersal mechanisms,  ability to grow in aquatic environments, response to fire and tolerance to herbicides.
• Olsynium philippii was assessed as having a mixture of weedy and non-weedy traits. This species will continue to be assessed if additional information is made available regarding its allelopathic potential, palatability, toxicity to humans, tolerance to herbicides, generative time, response to fire, ability to grow on infertile soils, ability to hybridise and ability to self-fertilise.
• The Ranunculus crenatus, Ranunculus creticus and Ranunculus gouanii  species was assessed as having a mixture of weedy and non-weedy traits. This species will continue to be assessed if additional information is made available regarding its allelopathic potential, ability to self-fertilize and hybridise naturally, generative time, herbicide tolerance, ability to form a propagule bank and tolerance of mutilation, cultivation or fire.

The Weed Risk Assessment system is a science-based quarantine risk analysis tool for determining the weed potential of a plant. All plants proposed for importation into Australia and not currently permitted on BICON are assessed for their potential to become weeds in Australia. Further information on the Weed Risk Assessment system is available on the department's website.

Further information:
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or email imports@agriculture.gov.au.