Behaviours that Threaten Australia's Biosecurity: Desktop Review and Behavioural Prioritisation - Final Project Report

A strong biosecurity approach has played a key role in keeping Australia free from the world’s most severe pests and diseases. However as international travel and trade continues to increase, it is important that we use all of the tools available to us to reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases entering the country and damaging our precious environment and important industries. Effectively influencing individuals’ behaviours is key to maintaining our biosecurity as we rely on travellers, online shoppers, importers, inspectors, stevedores and others to do certain things to reduce risk. The intent of this project was to review existing research to better understand the behaviours that lead to increased biosecurity risk, and identify priority behaviours that could be targeted in future research and behavioural design interventions.

This work included a desktop review, consultation with an Advisory Group of 13 Officers from across the Biosecurity Group and related areas, individual consultations with ten government or academic biosecurity experts, and a behavioural prioritisation workshop. The project was scoped to include behavioural research from the past ten years and was focused on inadvertent noncompliance behaviour occurring pre and at-border.