Biosecurity safeguards our industries, our environment, our livelihoods, and our way of life. Yet we are constantly challenged by biosecurity risks which are dynamic and evolving in an ever-changing world. Risks that require us to innovate, integrate, and communicate across disciplines and perspectives. A significant biosecurity outbreak could for example decimate grain yields, impact export markets, and severely affect supply chains. In addition, it could have negative impact on land and sea that has important cultural and heritage values to Indigenous Australians.
This course provides a transdisciplinary approach to biosecurity integrating multiple disciplines (e.g. biology, epidemiology, public health, and science communication) and perspectives (e.g. government organisations, Indigenous knowledge frameworks, and the public). The course is delivered by staff from Research School Biology, the National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health, and the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. It draws on relevant expert knowledge from government representatives, Indigenous rangers, industry researchers, and industry peak bodies.
This course starts off with providing an introduction to policies and legislation that frame the collective biosecurity discussions in Australia. It follows on with on country engagement with local Indigenous rangers that provide a unique perspective on biosecurity and caring for country. It moves on to introduce the science of plant pathogens that pose biosecurity risks and provides hands on experience with diagnosing plant diseases using various approaches. It explores novel technologies that improve detection and identification of organisms that pose biosecurity risks. The second half of the course dives into biosecurity in relation to public health and the One Health concept. It provides opportunities to learn and practice effective (science) communication skills. It introduces risk management frameworks that will be used to quantify biosecurity risks of specific real-world scenarios. It finishes off with a panel discussion of experts from academic, industry, and governments who provide the opportunity to explore future challenges of and employment opportunities in the biosecurity sector.
Note: Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but are assessed separately.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Research and evaluate biosecurity information across multiple disciplines (e.g. biology, epidemiology, public health, and science communication) and perspectives (e.g. government organisations, Indigenous knowledge frameworks, and the public) with a specific focus on the biosecurity system's value to Australia.
- Contrast the big picture principles and challenges that underly policies used to manage biosecurity risks in Australia.
- Classify the biological, social, and environmental attributes that make feral animals, weeds, parasites and pathogenic micro-organisms a biosecurity risk.
- Critically analyse the science and social aspects that contribute to our identification and classification of new biosecurity risks.
- Apply hands-on problem-solving skills to real world biosecurity risk scenarios while making use of information across multiple disciplines and perspectives.
- Effectively communicate complex solutions to real world biosecurity risks including multi-leveled mitigation strategies.
- Summarize and critically evaluate primary literature that introduces new concepts and methods in biosecurity.
Other Information
Participation in 70% of workshops and 70% of practical laboratories are a course requirement. Students are also required to attend at least two primary biosecurity literature journal clubs.
Indicative Assessment
- Quizzes (20) [LO 2,3,4]
- Laboratory reports on a plant biosecurity diagnostic challenge (20) [LO 1,3,4,5,6]
- Multimedia submission (e.g. presentation, podcast, video clip, etc) on a One Health topic selected by individual students or in small groups (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Critical essay on a biosecurity topic selected by each student individually (25) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
- Journal club presentation on primary biosecurity literature (15) [LO 4,5,6,7]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester.
The workload each week includes the following as indicated:
- 2 x 1 hour lectures per week (total 24 hours) of which most will be available as short online mini-lectures.
- 1 x 2 hour in person workshop per week (total 24 hours) for which attendance is required as these are essential to address LO 3-6 which are directly linked to 3/4 assessments items. Workshops will most often be delivered by real world domain experts e.g. federal and local government representatives, industry researchers, Indigenous rangers, etc..
- 10 x 3 hour practical labs across the Semester.
- 2 x 1.5 hours on journal club attendance for presentations of primary biosecurity literature. Journal clubs require students to participate in discussions and to provide critical feedback on fellow students presentation.
- up to 6 hours preparation time for a journal club presentation on primary biosecurity literature.
In addition, throughout the course students are expected to spend approximately 48 hours of self-directed study which will include preparation for lectures, workshops, practical laboratories and assessment tasks.
Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and problem-solving activities as part of the workshops and practical labs.
Inherent Requirements
No inherent requirements have been identified for this course
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Biology Teaching and Learning Centre to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
Nil
Assumed Knowledge
Please contact the course convenor if you are interested in this course and lack basic molecular biology skills to identify potential suitable prior training opportunities.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3185 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |