Prevent weed spread: industry and recreation

You can prevent the spread of weeds if you work in the nursery and aquarium businesses in the Northern Territory (NT).

If you work in a nursery or aquarium business you should know which plants are declared weeds so you can remove them from sale and report them to the Weed Management Branch.

Prevent weed spread

You must do all of the following to prevent the spread of weeds through nursery or aquarium trade:

• your sales staff must be able to identify declared weeds and suggest suitable alternate species to customers
• remove all declared weeds from sale
• destroy weeds and their seeds on site to avoid their spread
• be aware that some plants from gardens and aquariums have become invasive weeds, including lantana, neem and cabomba
• keep potted sales stock weed free, especially when sending orders to remote locations
• closely monitor plants grown from seed to be sure that contaminants are not declared weeds
• promote non-weedy garden plants through Nursery and Garden Industry Australia's Grow Me Instead program.

What you must not do

To prevent the spread of weeds in nursery or aquarium businesses you must not do any of the following:

• you must not import aquatic plants into the NT without applying for a move aquatic plant DOCX (51.4 KB) permit
• do not plant, keep, import, transport or sell declared weeds as garden plants - this includes weeds such as neem and fountain grass
• never dump declared weeds or plants that self-propagate
• never allow plants to escape from outdoor ponds during heavy rains
• never tip pond or aquarium plants in a waterway or drain.