Weeds

Weeds are a threat to our environment. They compete with native plants, attract pest animals and upset the natural balance of our ecosystems. Weeds also cause problems for farmers and can damage crops and agriculture.

Within the Wollongong City Council area weeds that pose the biggest threat are known as priority weeds. The Draft South East Regional Strategic Management Plan provides guidance on what the priority weeds are for the Wollongong area.

Under the Biosecurity Act 2015 everyone has a General Biosecurity Duty (GBD) to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practical, the biosecurity risk posed by priority weeds is prevented, eliminated or minimised.

In our area, the Illawarra District Weeds Authority oversees work to control priority weeds. Visit their website for information about problem weeds and what can be done to control them.

Council’s weed control work

We do several things to try and control weeds on public land across Wollongong. This includes:

• Ground and aerial spraying. Our Pesticides Notification Policy PDF, 214.88 KB explains where and how we spray problem weeds.
• Bush regeneration. Volunteer groups like Bushcare, Dunecare and Fiready regularly remove weeds and plant native species to help reduce the spread of weeds.
• Planning and research. We work with the NSW Government, Illawarra District Weeds Authority and neighbouring councils to share information and combine our efforts to control weeds.