Do you have an idea that could help improve our biosecurity system?
You can apply to work with us under the Biosecurity Innovation Program (BIP).
We invite your Expression of interest (EOI) for the first stage of the application process.
Submit your EOI between Monday, 10 October 2022 and 11:00pm AEST Friday, 2 December 2022.
Who can apply?
This BIP is open to everyone, government employees, industry participants and stakeholders. Individuals or organisations can apply. If you have more than one idea, you can submit more than one EOI.
The BIP provides funding and support. We’ll help you develop your idea within a project.
What we are looking for
We are looking for ideas that align with our biosecurity key focus areas and priorities. We will work with you to turn your proposal into viable products or services.
The first stage of the application process is to submit an EOI.
If your EOI meets our criteria, we will invite you to submit a comprehensive project proposal in stage 2.
Expression of interest
Find out what you need to know to apply for stage 1.
Check our key focus areas and priorities
Check our key focus areas and divisional priorities.
Prepare your Expression of interest
Develop a summary of your project idea against our key focus areas and divisional priorities.
Show how your proposed product or service could help improve our biosecurity system.
Submit your Expression of interest
Submit your EOI through the BrightIdeas platform by the closing date 11:00pm AEST Friday, 2 December 2022.
How to update your Expression of interest
If you need to update your EOI after you have submitted it, you can contact us at biosecurity.innovation@agriculture.gov.au.
Assessment criteria
We assess each EOI against our key focus areas and divisional priorities.
We’ll contact unsuccessful applicants early
We will email unsuccessful applicants early so they can pursue other options.
They can then also work towards an improved application for future rounds.
We’ll invite successful applicants to Stage 2
We will email successful applicants and invite them to progress to Stage 2.
In this email, we will provide details of requirements for the Stage 2 assessment process.
How long will it take?
You will hear from us around 8 weeks after the closing date. You will also get electronic updates at various stages in the application process. However, please note that we cannot give an indication of likely success.
When we have completed our assessment process, we will notify all applicants.
About Stage 2
If you are successful in your EOI submission, we will invite you to apply for Stage 2.
This stage involves a more detailed assessment and due diligence process. Here is what you need to know.
Develop a business case
You will work with one of our officers to develop a business case. It will include the:
- challenge
- proposed solution
- project scope
- key deliverables
- key stakeholders
- project milestones
- budget
Procurement and contracting process
We will undertake a procurement and contracting process in line with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules to contract the successful supplier.
Project timing
Your project must be delivered against the agreed contract. It must finish no later than the end of the following financial year.
Project phases
You may deliver your project in phases over multiple years. This will be detailed in your proposal and must be approved by the BIP executive committee.
Our promise
We will work with you throughout the process. We will ensure the best chance to deliver an innovative solution that we can use.
Your privacy
We collate information from the EOI form to assess applications for the BIP. Only authorised officers and approved assessors have access to this information.
We won’t disclose personal information without your consent, unless required by the Privacy Act 2009 or other laws.
We may publish broad details of successful proposals, agreed outcomes, progress and funding.
For details see our Privacy Policy.
Our key focus areas
Will consider EOIs that match our priorities. Here are our top 5 key focus areas.
Automation
Automating biosecurity activity processes can increase effectiveness and efficiency.
We aim to:
- automate and increase system capacity of manual resource intensive processes
- enhance capability to automatically detect and identify risk
- develop verification technologies to support the maintenance of Australia's biosecurity status.
Data and Intelligence
Improve data accessibility to inform biosecurity decision-making.
We aim to:
- enhance system connectivity for timely information exchange
- nationally coordinate and manage data
- anticipate emerging risk, improve pre-border clearance and modernise a national coordinated diagnostics network to better inform decisions.
Risk Analysis
Inform and enhance our risk-based approach to biosecurity risk management.
We aim to:
- manage change and improve responses to emerging issues, including pest and disease resistance, and climate related threats
- develop enhanced risk analysis including prioritisation and risk models
- develop and implement targeted profiling activities.
Surveillance, Diagnostics and Screening
Inform and enhance our risk-based approach to biosecurity risk management.
We aim to:
- trial and implement novel surveillance, diagnostic and screening technologies
- enhance early detection and diagnostic techniques
- use new and emerging technologies and approaches to enhance laboratory testing and enable remote detection and identification of pests and disease.
Communication and collaboration
Improve communication and collaboration across the biosecurity system. We do this to enhance system participants understanding, awareness and acceptance of biosecurity requirements:
We aim to:
- strengthen communication and collaboration with stakeholders
- try new approaches like, citizen science and behavioural economics
- promote contestability of biosecurity services and activities
- increase industries capacity to perform biosecurity functions or activities where capability or services can be enhanced.
Our divisional challenges
In addition to the above focus areas, we also have specific divisional challenges that we need to address. These are outlined below.
Biosecurity Operations Division (BOD) is the operational policy and delivery arm for biosecurity and imported food related regulatory functions.
We work in diverse settings across Australia, including shipping ports, airports, mail centres, quarantine facilities, and thousands of third-party premises to support compliance of people, goods, aircraft and vessels with Australia’s biosecurity requirements.
Our staff perform assessments and inspections on imported goods, associated packaging, and the conveyances on which they arrive.
Key priorities and challenges
Key priorities for BOD are to modernise our information and data management systems, improve our business and regulatory practices (based on better data and analytics), and partner with industry to co-design a proportionate regulatory system that rewards compliance and reduces undue intervention.
A key challenge for BOD is identifying approaches to improve how we manage our biosecurity risks, while simultaneously simplifying border processes to support legitimate trade, and movement of people across the border.
Another key priority for BOD is to keep abreast of innovations used by the sector, including robotics, machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT), to support benefit realisation – including increased automation. BOD’s diverse operating environments can present a challenge in deploying consistent, nationwide change. Accordingly, solutions need to be practical, scalable, flexible, sustainable, secure and safe.
Biosecurity Plant Division (BPD) provides a contemporary, responsive, sustainable, intelligence-led, and science-based plant biosecurity system that protects Australia's plant health status. BPD supports agricultural productivity, competitiveness and market access for plant and plant products, imports, and exports. BPD pursues new market access for Australian exporters, particularly opportunities arising from finalised free trade agreements.
BPD conducts plant pest and disease risk analyses, develops and implements risk mitigation measures and works collaboratively to strengthen Australia’s plant pest prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities both within Australia and regionally.
BPD also incorporates the department’s critical operational surveillance and diagnostic functions supporting border risk management. This includes the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (including the Indigenous Ranger Biosecurity Program), National Border Surveillance and Operational Science and Surveillance.
Key priorities and challenges
Key priorities for BPD relate to ensuring that our controlled and uncontrolled import and export pathways are managed safely and efficiently to manage biosecurity risks. Key tools to enable safe and effectual management of these pathways, including trade, are cheap, effective and accessible treatments of plants and plant products; portable, sensitive and accurate pest detection and identification technologies; reliable and comprehensive taxonomic data for exotic pests; practical and effective surveillance technologies; and innovative approaches to diagnostics in high-risk plantlets in tissue culture for pests and disease.
The Biosecurity Animal Division (BAD) manages a biosecurity system that protects Australia's animal health status and supports the productivity, global competitiveness and sustainability of Australian animal industries and the environment, including marine.
Key priorities and challenges
Key priorities for BAD include actively identifying biosecurity risks of pests and diseases, mitigated and managed through innovative and strategic approaches, including horizon scanning and intelligence, the provision of accurate, contemporary and robust scientific policy advice, and effective regulation and assurance. Effective national surveillance, monitoring, emergency preparedness and response activities. Partnering with external experts and specialists to develop and enhance biosecurity policy and regulation for imported animals and their products.
The Compliance and Enforcement Division (CED) monitors, assesses and responds to risk in order to drive compliance. CED delivers regulatory outcomes that protect Australia from risks to our biosecurity and trade systems.
Informed by both science and intelligence we set controls and deliver assurance activities to increase compliance with legislation; and respond appropriately and proportionately to any breaches.
We work with internal and external stakeholders across the regulatory continuum responding to known and emerging risks to safeguard Australia’s agriculture, economy, trade and way of life.
Key priorities and challenges
Key priorities for CED include enhancing our regulatory capability through better utilisation of data and information, increased automation and enhanced risk analysis. For example, to provide assurance that the frequency of approved arrangement audits is set appropriately, CED recognises a need for a statistically supported audit frequency policy. Current audit frequency levels were developed in the absence of statistical underpinnings.
A project of this nature would need to engage high level statistical expertise to analyse the department’s data holdings and examine statistically valid means of setting audit frequency to provide set levels of confidence (assurance) of compliance. This project would provide statistical rigour to approved arrangement audit frequencies to strengthen the department’s risk-based approach.
The Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer (ACPPO) is the primary representative of, and an advisor to, the Australian Government on all matters relating to Australia’s plant health status and its supporting systems.
The ACPPO supports and improves Australia’s plant health system to ensure it minimises the impacts of current and emerging plant biosecurity risks to Australia’s environment, agricultural production and trade, and helps meet relevant national and international obligations. Further information is available at https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/plant/health/acppo
Key priorities and challenges
Key priorities for ACPPO include promoting innovation, technology and data usage across the plant biosecurity continuum to protect and enhance Australia’s plant status. Our offshore priorities include performance monitoring to measure the effectiveness of pathway interventions, along with the creation of a pre-border inspectorate training program for risk assessments, inspections, pest/diseases and treatments to uplift capability for these offshore partners.
We are also seeking to identify and develop novel measures and treatments to address pest threats, especially those that can be deployed offshore easily. At-border and post-border priorities include the development of innovative, accessible and fit-for-purpose tools to enhance surveillance, diagnostics, preparedness and response capabilities.
Data management is also a priority including the development of new tools, and secure, scalable and user-friendly databases, designed for a low technical overhead and infrastructure but still with robust data standards and workflows. Additionally, there is also a focus on automation including to streamline molecular diagnostic processes from sampling to reporting molecular analysis.