Much has been said about the role and scope of Biosecurity as a practice. We put forward that Biosecurity is the management of risk posed by threats to plant, animal, human and environmental health, so as to avoid or minimise biosecurity impacts to the community, environment, and economy. Using this definition, we can therefore measure the success of biosecurity interventions by measuring how well those interventions enable the avoidance or minimisation of biosecurity impacts both now and into the future.
This paper will provide early insights into the outcomes of the biosecurity response to Varroa destructor in NSW from the perspective of impact management. It will provide evidence to support the position that each phase of the response has been successful, risk-appropriate and consistent with the goals of biosecurity as a practice. We discuss a series of direct and indirect impacts resulting from the incursion and the extent to which these impacts have been managed well or remain subject to ongoing management. In doing so we will provide recommendations to improve outcomes from future biosecurity interventions.