Overview of process for amending the NPPA list

Proposals

Proposals for pest plants to be added to, or removed from, the Accord list can be put forward at any time, by filling in the proposal form available as a word document (60 KB) or a PDF (24 KB). Proposals will be held by MAF until there are enough to justify a review, unless there is some urgency involved with adding or removing the proposed species. At the time of a review, the rest of this process will be followed.

Risk assessments and regulatory impact statements developed

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) then will complete a risk assessment for each proposed species, based on the evaluation criteria . The TAG will recommend whether the species should be included in the Accord list or not. Regulatory impact statements will also be prepared, to estimate the effect on industry if species were to be banned.

Steering Group decision

Once the TAG's advice, summary of submissions and regulatory impacts are complete, the Steering Group will consider the full assessment and decide on any changes to the Accord list¹. If the Steering Group decides there is not enough information on which to base a decision, it can delay the decision until more information is available.

To be included on the Accord list the pest plant must be declared an ‘unwanted organism’ under the Biosecurity Act 1993. Any species to be added that is not currently declared as an ‘unwanted organism’ will be submitted to the Chief Technical Officer who must decide whether to declare it as an unwanted organism.

⁽¹⁾ The decision-making process and criteria for the Steering Group were decided at the Steering Group meeting on 31 March 2006. This process and criteria is available on the Biosecurity New Zealand website.

2006 NPPA TAG assessment

The 2006 NPPA TAG assessment of plant species on the Accord list is available as a PDF (1745 KB).

Page last updated: 27 April 2011