At least 70 species of non-indigenous vertebrates have established wild populations in Australia and over 30 of these species are pests. In addition to posing a considerable threat to conservation values, the economic cost of these species is at least $700 million per year, mainly in lost agricultural production.

There is a risk that further environmental and agricultural impact will result from new exotic species becoming established in the wild. Therefore governments need to put systems in place to ensure that 'high risk' species - those that could readily establish and become pests in the wild - are not imported into Australia. This requires a scientific risk assessment process to objectively assess import applications as well as border management to ensure that species are not illegally or accidentally introduced.

The Bureau of Rural Sciences has developed risk assessment models (Bomford 2003, 2006), which have been endorsed by the National Vertebrate Pests Committee and may be used as the basis for future exotic species import applications. The Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts use these risk assessment processes for assessing the suitability of exotic animals for live import into Australia. These models are also being used by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food to assess the risk posed by exotic vertebrates already present in Australia. The models have recently been validated and refined (Bomford 2008), providing a robust system for screening potential imports or assessing exotic species already in Australia. New models for assessing the risk of establishment of birds and mammals to New Zealand have also been developed (Bomford 2008).

Risk assessment models for establishment of exotic vertebrates to Australia and New Zealand (Bomford 2008)
LIST OF EXOTIC ANIMALS IN AUSTRALIA SUBJECT TO RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk assessment model for the import and keeping of exotic freshwater and estuarine finfish (Bomford and Glover 2004)
Risk assessment model for the import and keeping of exotic reptiles and amphibians (Bomford et. al. 2005)
Risk assessment for the establishment of exotic vertebrates in Australia: recalibration and refinement of models (Bomford 2006)
Data tables used to develop risk assessment models