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What the fire ant zone means for your soil, hay and turf

Fire ants were first detected in Australia in Queensland in February 2001, and they crossed into New South Wales at South Murwillumbah on 23 November 2023 (Australian Government’s Outbreak record).

Inside Queensland’s fire ant biosecurity zones, Queensland’s Biosecurity Regulation 2016 sets the movement rules.

Australia drawn by its pest lines: Bass Strait and the Tropic of Capricorn for termites, the fire ant zone, the WA border for the European wasp, the funnel-web range, and the electric ant zone in Far North Queensland. Each numbered label opens a guide. 1b · Bass Strait 1a · northern termite The fire ant biosecurity zones, in place across Queensland and extended 5 km beyond known detections; drawn over the South East Queensland area the sources name; the zones change monthly. 2 · fire ants South Murwillumbah, where fire ants crossed into New South Wales on 23 November 2023. 3 · the WA border The funnel-web range, drawn through the places the sources name. 4 · funnel-webs The electric ant biosecurity zone: six council areas in Far North Queensland, around Cairns and the surrounding areas. 5 · electric ants Indian Ocean Coral Sea

Lines are drawn from the places each source names; the regulator’s map is the boundary.

The timeline, 2001 onwards

  1. February 2001Fire ants are first detected in Australia, in Queensland.
  2. The first detection was in the Brisbane area, and nests since found across South East Queensland in an area spanning an estimated 600,000 hectares (Business Queensland, last reviewed February 2022).
  3. 23 November 2023Fire ants are found at South Murwillumbah in New South Wales, triggering an emergency response from the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, with the National Fire Ant Eradication Program.
  4. 19 January 2024A further incursion at Wardell, in northern New South Wales.
  5. November 2024Fire ants are intercepted in a turf delivery to Clunes, triggering the suspension of turf moving from the Queensland fire ant infested area into NSW.
  6. 2 July 2025A third NSW incursion, at Tweed Heads South.
  7. By 2032The National Fire Ant Eradication Program’s goal is to eradicate fire ants from Australia by 2032, working first to detect and contain them in South East Queensland.
  8. Also on the recordFire ants have been eradicated from Australia on eight different occasions: six in Queensland, and one each in New South Wales and Western Australia.

Noosa Shire Council’s fire ants page reports an infestation found close to its boundary, north of Brisbane.

Source: Outbreak, red imported fire ant; Business Queensland, fire ants in Queensland; Bundaberg Regional Council, pest animals; Noosa Shire Council, fire ants.

What the zone is

Fire ant biosecurity zones are in place in areas of Queensland to restrict the movement of materials that could spread fire ants.

The Biosecurity Regulation 2016 establishes two of them, fire ant biosecurity zone 1 and zone 2, as the parts of the state identified on the fire ant biosecurity zone map.

Fire ants themselves are a category 1 restricted pest under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

The zones are in place across Queensland to prevent the spread of fire ants and to protect unaffected areas, and there are two of them.

New suburbs may be added to the zones each month, while others may change zones.

The zones are reviewed and updated monthly, to line up with the interstate plant quarantine zones, and the boundaries are drawn to sit 5 km beyond known fire ant detections rather than following suburb boundaries.

The rules apply to everyone who resides or works inside a zone, whether or not fire ants or their nests have been seen.

And the boundary test is deliberate: where any part of a property shares a boundary with a zone, the whole property counts as inside it.

Source: Business Queensland, fire ant; Queensland legislation, Biosecurity Regulation 2016; Business Queensland, fire ant biosecurity zones.

What counts as a carrier

The regulation gives the term a wide reach.

Equipment and materials of certain kinds can move fire ants and spread infestations.

They need careful checking and management, especially where they come from a fire ant biosecurity zone.

Machinery is on the list too: slashers, excavators and wheelbarrows, cleaned of soil and other material fire ants nest in.

Source: Queensland legislation, Biosecurity Regulation 2016; Bundaberg Regional Council, pest animals; Outbreak, red imported fire ant.

The movement rules, in the order they apply

Plain order, from the Biosecurity Regulation 2016, for a householder with a trailer, a garden or a few bales:

  • 1A live fire ant must not be moved from a place in a fire ant biosecurity zone to anywhere else, inside or outside the zone, unless it is moved under a biosecurity authorisation.
  • 2Soil must not be moved out of a biosecurity zone, with one exception: from a place in fire ant biosecurity zone 1 to a place in fire ant biosecurity zone 2, or under a biosecurity authorisation.
  • 3A live fire ant must not be kept outside the zones without a biosecurity authorisation.
  • 4For a carrier other than soil left at a place in a zone for at least 24 hours:
  • 5The person dealing with it or the owner must ensure the carrier is covered in a way that stops fire ants infesting it, and must also meet the other storage conditions in section 71(2).
  • 6Relevant carriers, including animal manure and mining or quarrying by-products, must be disturbed at least every 21 days while kept, and at least 24 hours before being moved, with a written record of how and when.
  • 7In a zone, cut hay must be baled within 24 hours of the final raking.
  • 8The last two rakings must be within 24 hours of each other, and the bales removed from the paddock within 24 hours of baling.
  • 9Turf and potted plants can sidestep the covering rule when they are treated with an appropriate chemical product, with a written record of the product and how it was used.
  • 10A fire ant carrier other than soil may move: to a waste facility in the same zone when moved directly there, or when it has been at the original place for less than 24 hours.
  • 11On top of the specific rules, everyone whose activities involve moving or storing a fire ant carrier has a general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable steps not to spread fire ants.

Source: Queensland legislation, Biosecurity Regulation 2016; Business Queensland, fire ant.

Reporting, and if you are stung

In Queensland, the National Fire Ant Eradication Program asks for sightings within 24 hours on 132 ANT (13 22 68), or through the online report at fireants.org.au.

In New South Wales, fire ants must be reported through the NSW Biosecurity Helpline on 1800 680 244, or online at dpi.nsw.gov.au/fire-ants.

In Western Australia, red imported fire ants are not considered to have established.

The state’s Pest and Disease Information Service, run by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, is on (08) 9368 3080 for that state’s advice.

For a sting, read the WA Department of Health’s first aid page for fire ant stings, which sets out what to do and when to seek medical attention. Rarely, fire ant stings can cause a severe allergic reaction.

Source: Outbreak, red imported fire ant; Business Queensland, fire ants in Queensland; HealthyWA, fire ant stings first aid.

Who may be paid to treat a home

Queensland Health requires anyone carrying out pest control activities for a fee to be licensed, and its Health Protection Branch is on (07) 3328 9310 to check a licence.

Source: Queensland Health, seeking pest management services.