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Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS)
Overview
Northern Australia is especially vulnerable to pests that could enter from countries to Australia's North. Migrating birds and wind currents can both carry pests to Australian shores from neighbouring countries, often using islands as the stepping-stones between the mainlands. Australia's northern coastline is vast and sparsely populated making it vulnerable to the undetected landing of foreign vessels that by-pass the usual quarantine checks at Australian borders.
The Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy program was established in 1989 to help address the unique quarantine risks in this northern region. The NAQS program conducts surveys along our northern coastline and neighbouring countries, for early signs of new pests or disease. The NAQS program also has a high presence in the Torres Strait, monitoring traffic between the Papua New Guinea and Australian mainlands and ensuring high public awareness of people living in this strategically important quarantine zone.
The NAQS program operates along Australia’s northern coastline from Broome in the west to Cairns in the East. This includes the Torres Strait, but excludes the metropolitan areas of Darwin and Cairns. NAQS offshore activities are limited to Australia’s nearest northern neighbours: Indonesia, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea.
Role
The role of the NAQS program is:
- To manage the quarantine aspects of border movements through the Torres Strait
- To identify and evaluate the unique quarantine risks facing northern Australia
- To develop and implement measures for the early detection of targeted pests and diseases
- To strengthen Australia’s quarantine through collaborative capacity building activities in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Timor Leste.
These objectives are undertaken through a program of scientific surveys and monitoring, border activities, on and off shore capacity building and public awareness activities (Quarantine Top Watch!). The NAQS program employs staff in Broome, One Arm Point, Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Weipa, Bamaga, Cairns, Torres Strait Islands and Canberra.