Protected Cropping Australia | Chair’s update | September 2026
Summary
More than a year after eradication of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) was determined to be no longer technically feasible, growers still lack a clear account of the management arrangements that followed. The National Management Group (NMG) agreed on 29 May 2025 that eradication was no longer technically feasible, and all remaining eradication activities under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) were formally stood down on 22 September 2025. PCA has been advised that the proposed national management plan was abandoned without being implemented, and management instead moved to individually controlled state-by-state arrangements, with no clear national plan. This change and its implications have not been communicated clearly or transparently to growers. State-led arrangements can respond to local circumstances, but clearer communication, consistency and practical coordination are still needed. PCA will continue working with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Plant Health Australia (PHA), state governments and growers towards proportionate biosecurity, workable market access and reliable, affordable fresh produce.
PCA has used the past year to strengthen the sector’s position. The most significant step is the formation of the PCA Food Security Foundation, a separately governed charity intended, once endorsement is confirmed, to receive tax-deductible gifts and fund the research, plant health capability, skills and market development that protected cropping needs. Growers will be asked to support it, but the Foundation is expected to be most attractive to industry suppliers, corporations, philanthropic bodies and high-net-worth families, and most of its funding is expected to come from those who back the industry and national food security rather than from growers themselves. Together with our re-application to PHA and the EPPRD voluntary payment mechanisms the Minister has asked DAFF to discuss with us, the Foundation is central to PCA’s proposed constructive pathway to full PHA membership and EPPRD participation, so that protected cropping can become a contributing participant in the national biosecurity system with a seat at the table when decisions affecting our growers are made. Our goal is for protected cropping to be recognised as a category under the Deed, covering non-levied crops grown under protected cropping methods and structures, subject to agreed Deed arrangements. Greenlife Industry Australia’s EPPRD participation for production nurseries is a relevant precedent, although PCA’s arrangements remain to be agreed. The contribution we propose is proportionate: the same biosecurity levy rate capsicum growers already pay, 0.025% of sales, or $25 for every $100,000 sold.
The past year has also been one of the most active in PCA’s history. PCA has lodged more than a dozen formal letters, submissions and applications with governments and agencies, met officials in Canberra on 18 June 2026 after the Minister directed her advisers to engage, and followed up in writing. Progress has been slower than growers need: DAFF’s most recent reply, 63 days after PCA’s July letter, was an interim note, and PCA’s detailed response of 14 September 2026 is still awaiting a reply. Administrative requirements and delayed responseshave slowed progress, and PCA remains committed to working collaboratively with DAFF, PHA and its members on a workable outcome. In Queensland, a Right to Information request for the ToBRFV test results and communications behind that state’s restrictions was declined for processing 301 days after it was lodged.
This update also reports on PCA’s advocacy with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on the National Construction Code (NCC) for high-technology glasshouses.
