The purpose of this page is to deliver information to assist you, the land manager, with the management of pest plants. If you think something needs to be added to this page, don't hesitate to contact us.


Some of the entries on this page may not seem relevant to your area but could be an issue in neighbouring parts.

The three classes of pest plants under Queensland legislation are:

Class 1 - High priority, small distribution, all available resources to be provided to control infestation

Class 2 - Typical declared pests, main focus on managing distribution

Class 3 - High impact in some areas, generally of minor concern, powers of enforcement granted by Act

View an excerpt of the relevant Act here.

In the Northern Territory there are also three classes of pest plants:

Class A weeds - to be eradicated

Class B weeds - growth and spread to be controlled

Class C weeds - not to be introduced to the Territory

View the relevant Act here.

Declared plants in South Australia are divided into 11 classes, many of which have numerous sub-classes:

• Class 1 - notification and destruction (whole of State);
• Class 2 and 4 - notification in part of State, control in whole of State;
• Class 3,5 and 7 - control in part of State;
• Class 6,8 and 9 - special provisions apply;
• Class 10 and 11 - restricting sale only.

There are also numerous Sections of the Act which may apply to these classes.

For a full list of these classes, the plants in them, the provisions of the Act that applies to each plant, and the declared control areas, click here (Be warned!  This file is 11.5MB; we don’t recommend downloading with a dial-up connection. The relevant information is from page 4529 onwards).

View the relevant Act here.

New South Wales

There are four classes of pest plants in New South Wales:

W1 - presence must be notified to the local control authority and the weed must be fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed.

W2 - must be fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed.

W3 - must be prevented from spreading and its numbers and distribution reduced.

W4 - the action specified in the declaration must be taken in respect of the weed.

View the relevant Act here.

Queensland Section

Class 1 pest plants

No Class 1 pest plants are know to be present in the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin

Class 2 pest plants

• African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum)

• American rat’s tail grass (Sporobolus jacquemontii)

• belly-ache bush (Jatropha gossypiifolia)

• cabomba (Cabomba spp.)

• chinee apple (Ziziphus mauritiana)

• giant Parramatta grass (Sporobolus fertilis)

• giant rat’s tail grass (Sporobolus pyramidalis and S. natalensis)

• harrisia cactus (Eriocereus spp.)

• mesquites (Prosopis glandulosa, P. pallida and P. velutina)

• mother of millions (Bryophyllum delagoense and B. daigremontianum x B. delagoense; Syn. Bryophyllum tubiflorum and B. daigremontianum x B. tubiflorum)

• parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata)

• parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus)

• prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica)

• prickly pear (Opuntia spp. other than O. ficus-indica)

• rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora)

• water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

• water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes).

Class 3 pest plants

• African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata)

• asparagus fern (Asparagus aethiopicus ‘Sprengeri’, A. africanus and A. plumosus)

• athel pine (Tamarix aphylla)

• balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum)

• broad-leaved pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius)

• camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora)

• captain cook tree (Thevetia peruviana)

• lantana (all species) (Lantana spp.)

• Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia)

• pencil willow (Salix chilensis; syn. S. humboldtiana)

• privets (Ligustrum lucidum and L. sinense)

• Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobata; syn. Wedelia trilobata)

• yellow bells (Tecoma stans).

Section 38 P5 Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002

An animal or plant may be declared to be:

(a) a class 1 pest if the Governor in Council or chief executive is satisfied it—

(i) is not commonly present or established in the State; and

(ii) has the potential to cause an adverse economic, environmental or social impact in the State, another State or a part of the State or another State;

or

(b) a class 2 or class 3 pest if the Governor in Council or chief executive is satisfied it—

(i) is established in the State; and

(ii) is causing, or has the potential to cause, an adverse economic, environmental or social impact in the State, another State or a part of the State or another State.

Northern Territory Section

Information will be included here as it becomes available.

South Australian Section

Information will be included here as it becomes available.

New South Wales Section

Category W1

Karroo thorn (Acacia karroo)

Prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica)

Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides)

Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa)

Black knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) 

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Horsetail (Equisetum spp.)

Senegal tea plant (Gymnocoronis spilanthoides)

Hawkweed (Hieracium spp.)

Kochia (Kochia scoparia) - Summer or Mock cypress (K. scoparia subsp. Tricophylla) is exempt from declaration

Lagarosiphon (Lagarosiphon major)

Miconia (Miconia spp.)

Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima syn Stipa tenuissima)

Broomrape (Orobanche spp.) - Except O. minor and O. cernua var Australiana

Jerusalem thorn (Parkinsonia aculeate)

Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus)

Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)

Mesquite (Prosopis spp.)

Salvinia (Salvinia molesta)

Category W2

Camel thorn (Alhagi pseudalhagi)

Green cestrum (Cestrum parqui)

Dodder (Cuscuta campestris)

African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum)

Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense)

Columbus grass (Sorghum x almum)

Rhus tree (Toxicodendron succedaneum)

Category W3

No Category W3 plants are know to be present in the New South Wales section of the Lake Eyre Basin.

Category W4

Harrisia cactus (Harrisia spp.)

Prickly pears (Opuntia spp.) - Indian fig (Opuntia ficus indica) is exempt from declaration

Cabomba (Cabomba spp.) - Pink cabomba (Cabomba furcata) is exempt from declaration

Willows (Salix spp.) - Salix babylonica, S. reichardtii and S. calodendron are exempt from declaration