Queensland Fruit Fly Detection and Quarantine Zone

Published on Monday, 9 December 2024 at 3:03:25 PM

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has declared a Red Zone Quarantine Area for parts of The Town of East Fremantle to support efforts to stop the spread of Queensland Fruit Fly (Qfly).

What you must do

• Residents in the Town of East Fremantle are encouraged to check the quarantine zone map on DPIRD's website to check if their address is in the red zone. 
  
  
• If you are in the red zone - residents and businesses must remove all fruit and fruiting vegetables – regardless of maturity- from Qfly host plants as well as fallen fruit. We understand that removing all host fruit from your garden is a sacrifice - it is a temporary measure but a powerful one that is designed at limiting the risk to your garden in the long term. See the full list of host plants.
  
  
• Homegrown fruit and fruiting vegetables inside the Red Zone can be consumed or treated by cooking, processing, freezing or solarising by securing it in a black plastic bag and placing on a hard surface in direct sunlight for more than seven days.
  
  
• Fruit that you keep for eating must be refrigerated immediately and fruit waste must be treated.
  

  Treating

  Before disposing in the general waste bin, you must treat all host fruit and fruit waste by:
  • cooking (e.g. boiling or microwaving)
  • freezing for a minimum of 24 hours
  • processing (e.g. slicing, dicing, juicing, blending)
  • solarising (secure in a sealed black plastic bag and place on a hard surface in direct sunlight for a minimum period of seven days).
  
  
• Stop the spread of Qfly by not sharing host fruit or fruiting vegetables with friends or relatives. This excludes fruit that has been cooked, frozen or cut into bite-sized pieces. Fruit in the Red Zone cannot be moved within or outside the zone, unless treated.
  
  
• Trees will not need to be removed as part of DPIRD’s Qfly biosecurity response, as effective treatments are available to control the pest
  

Green waste collections

Pruned branches must be stripped of all host fruit before they are left out for verge collection or put into green waste bins/bags. Fruit must be treated before being disposed of in the general waste bin.

Movement of host fruit

You must not move Qfly host fruit within or out of the Quarantine Area Red Zone unless it has been treated. 

Changes to waste collection

• Fruit not consumed or treated must be disposed of by securing in a black plastic bag and disposing in the general waste bin – but not into the recycling or food organics, garden organics (FOGO) bin.

Moving fruit and host plants

• Residents and commercial operators in the Red and Orange zones wishing to move fruit and host plants within or outside of the zones are urged to consult the DPIRD website for movement requirements.
  
  
• Both homegrown and commercial fruit coming into or passing through the Quarantine Area must comply with DPIRD directions. 

Further information

Queensland Fruit Fly eradication Flyer

Your role in eradicating Qfly

For more information and to view the zone map to check if you are in the red zone, please visit the DPIRD website.

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