Plant Protection News - August 2009

An email newsletter from the Office of the Chief Plant Protection Officer.

In this issue:

• Applications invited for 2009-10 DAFF Diagnostic Training Scholarships
• New and updated SPHDS Reference Standards

Applications invited for 2009-10 DAFF Diagnostic Training Scholarships

Stage one applications are invited for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Diagnostic Training Scholarships 2009-10.

Diagnosticians employed on an on-going basis within Australia’s state and territory government agencies, the CSIRO, herbarium or insect collections, museums or other plant health bodies are invited to apply for the scholarships.

Successful applicants will each be funded for up to $10 000 to gain specialised knowledge on diagnosing plant pests at a recognised Australian or overseas laboratory. They will need to:

• be able to demonstrate a strong commitment and will to pursue careers in agricultural or forestry diagnostics of plant pests or diseases
• promote their accomplishments by becoming a national reference diagnostician for their chosen plant pest organism(s)
• submit a National Diagnostic Protocol, as a final report, for the chosen plant pest or disease within two months after the completion of training.

Stage one application process

Applicants for stage one of the scholarship application process must submit the following by Friday, 11 September 2009 (note that extensions will not be allowed):

• a two page expression of interest statement describing which pest or disease that you have chosen from the table of suggested target organisms for scholarships 2009-10 (see table below) and your diagnostic experience
• professional curriculum vitae of not more than two pages in length
• your work contact details and email address.

Applicants are to submit an email.

Applicants are also to submit a letter from the employer confirming a commitment to maintaining the diagnostic expertise within an agency. This is to be a hard copy document, signed by the appropriate senior manager, and sent to:

SPHDS Executive Officer
Office of the Chief Plant Protection Officer
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA ACT 2601

New and updated SPHDS Reference Standards

The Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostic Standards (SPHDS) has recently updated three of its SPHDS Reference Standards and has released a new one.

The SPHDS Reference Standards aim to help authors, peer reviewers and verification laboratories of diagnostic protocols by providing information on expected content and procedures.

The updated and new SPHDS Reference Standards (RS), available from the SPHDS web area, are:

• SPHDS RS No. 1 Glossary of Terms (version 3) – This standard assists authors of National Diagnostic Protocols by giving clear definitions of terms that they may use.
  
  
• SPHDS RS No.2 Development of Diagnostic Protocols – Technical Procedures (version 3) – This standard includes instructions to authors about layout, information to be included, and information about the procedure for verification and peer review that their protocol will undergo.
  
  
• SPHDS RS No.3 Guidelines for the Approval Process of National Diagnostic Protocols (version 3) – These guidelines describe the endorsement process once protocols are submitted to the SPHDS Assessment Panel.
  
  
• SPHDS RS No.4 Guidelines for Verification and Peer Review Reports (version 1). These guidelines explain what SPHDS expects as a report when plant experts have been approach to conduct either a peer review or laboratory verification of a protocol.

For further information contact the SPHDS Executive office by email.

SPHDS Reference Standards