Tiny pests, big trouble – and a free way to stay ahead
Thrips turn up in almost every nursery, but with so many species in play, no single treatment will reliably knock them down. By the time you spot damage, the population has often already taken hold – and that’s when things get expensive.
Here’s the good news: every production nursery can access six free diagnostic samples a year through Grow Help Australia – and this program has now been extended until 2030.
If you’ve got a suspicion something’s off, get it tested early. It’s fast, accurate, and could save you from a full-blown outbreak.
We know that Australians care about their most valuable asset: their home. A new nursery levy-funded campaign puts real numbers behind something growers have always known: plants add value. Not just to streetscapes, but to the bottom line. Partnering with property powerhouse, Domain, this project is funded under the Nursery Marketing Levy and aims to educate consumers about the value greenlife can add to their property and thus stimulate consumer demand for plants.
According to the latest Plant Value report, homes with greenery:
sell for 17% more
attract 3.3% more viewings
sell 3 days faster on average
deliver a 16% higher profit.
In other words – plants don’t just look good. They perform. They move stock, lift margins and prove the value of what our industry produces every day.
Who’s ready to take over when experience walks out the gate?
With almost half of Australian SMEs owned by people over 50, the Emerging Leaders Program is helping nurseries grow their next generation of leaders — before the silver tsunami hits.
Urban Tree Growers joined the levy-funded Lean Leaders program and uncovered simple changes that cut waste, saved time and delivered real returns – proof that training builds more than skills.
We’ve been out on the ground filming two new suites of levy-funded videos to help you sharpen your systems and borrow practical ideas from real nurseries.
Case studies – starting with Spruced (NSW)
Real growers, real changes and smart tweaks you can adapt on your own site.
How-to videos – kicking off with Brocklands (Tas)
Short, clear walkthroughs showing how others tackle common production and biosecurity challenges.
All funded through the nursery levy and built to make your job easier. First releases landing soon.
GIA IN THE NEWS: Proposed Philippines banana imports
Proposals to allow banana imports from the Philippines are raising serious concerns across the sector, with growers warning it could weaken Australia’s production base and expose the industry to avoidable risks.
Australia is one of the few banana-producing regions in the world still free from Moko disease, Black Sigatoka, Bract Mosaic Virus and the Banana Skipper Butterfly.
GIA’s John McDonald says, 'Growers and producers are already responding to several threats in their nurseries and plantations. We cannot expect them to take on the management of introduced pests that could’ve been avoided.'
In October 2025, Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP) was detected outside the current Restricted Area in Victoria. As a result of this detection, businesses in Victoria will soon need to comply with destination jurisdiction entry requirements for TPP when moving plants or produce interstate. Agriculture Victoria has worked with industry to rapidly develop a new arrangement to assist with interstate market access via ICA-62.
Victorian nurseries that trade interstate should now apply for this accreditation. For more details and to apply, visit Agriculture Victoria's website.
Reminder: clarifying nursery levy arrangements for certain berry growers
Greenlife Industry Australia and Berries Australia have been working with the Australian Government to resolve a long-standing anomaly in how the nursery products levy (pot levy) is applied.
For some time, a small number of berry growers using pots and bags to produce fruit for sale as food crops have been inadvertently captured as levy payers. Because these growers already contribute through their own berry levy, they have effectively been paying twice – and obviously, this is unfair.
Both industries have been asking for this to be fixed, and after extensive consultation the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has now received a proposal co-developed by GIA and Berries Australia to amend the Nursery Products Levy. The change will clarify that the nursery products levy only applies as originally intended – to containers used for nursery production, not fruit grown for sale.
GIA supports this clarification. It simply brings the nursery levy back in line with its purpose and ensures growers across industries are treated equitably.
The financial impact on the nursery levy of this change is unknown but is expected to be modest.
The Department has opened a six-week objection period, closing 12 December 2025. Growers who wish to lodge an objection can do so in writing via the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website or by emailing the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry via Horticulture.Policy@aff.gov.au or the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry via Minister.Collins@aff.gov.au
With thanks to our partners and supporters
Greenlife Industry Australia, PO Box 9002. Deakin ACT 2600. Canberra ACT
This newsletter is funded by Hort Innovation using the Nursery levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
You are receiving this email because you are a member of Greenlife Industry Australia, your state association or have been identified as a key stakeholder of the greenlife sector in Australia.
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