This course also known as the 'Weed & Seed' course is designed to provide you with an awareness of biosecurity threats associated with movement of machinery, vehicles and equipment. This course shows you how to identify some of the key biosecurity threats facing your operations and equips supervisors, employees and contractors with the skills and knowledge to implement company specific hygiene policies and procedures.
If you own or operate a vehicle in Queensland, you must make sure that it is free of any declared plant species and their reproductive materials.
Depending on your destination, you will require either a Weed Hygiene Declaration or a Vehicle Hygiene Inspection Report - in some cases you may be required to have both. When entering a property, you may be requested to provide record of the vehicles Weed & Seed history or else be refused entry.
It is an offence (under Section 270 of the act) to disobey any directions given by an authorised person (as defined by the act) who directs you to stop your vehicle.
Failure to comply with certain protocol could see you receive penalties of up to $20,000. This is why it's so important to be up to date about the processes and requirements for Weed & Seed washes.
In other words: fines apply for non-compliance
In Queensland alone, weeds account for more than $600 million dollars in lost productivity, land degradation, and control. The agriculture and tourism industries are in a constant battle to manage the challenging issues that invasive plants represent. Poorly cleaned vehicles are often to blame for spreading these plants. This issue isn't taken lightly.
A weed & seed wash can only be performed by a trained professional who has a nationally accreditted Statement of Attainment for AHCBIO201 Inspect and Clean Machinery for Plant, Animal and Soil Material
This course is a 1 day course (generally 8am - 4pm)
On successful completion of the training, you will receive a Statement of Attainment and also a licence sized card displaying your competency. This certification enables you to clean and inspect vehicle and equipment hygiene and sign-off on hygiene inspection forms.
