Strengthening Cross-Tenure weed data sharing to improve Serrated Tussock management: Report

In May 2025, RM Consulting Group delivered a final report to the Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party (VSTWP), alongside the Victorian Gorse Taskforce and the Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, examining opportunities and barriers to cross-tenure weed data collection and sharing across Victoria. The project aimed to better understand how invasive plant data is recorded, stored and shared, and how improved collaboration could strengthen landscape-scale weed management outcomes.

The study combined a statewide online survey (97 respondents) with two stakeholder forums. Participants represented local and state government, rural and non-rural private landholders, Landcare volunteers, contractors and Aboriginal organisations. Most respondents (84%) reported actively managing pest plants and animals, and 69% indicated they record data on weed species.

Weed data is primarily collected to inform control activities (80%), record treatment works and assess effectiveness (74%), and maintain records of infestations (67%). Many also use data for compliance, environmental planning and funding applications. Blackberry, gorse and serrated tussock were among the most commonly recorded species, alongside numerous other noxious and Weeds of National Significance.

Digital tools are widely used, with mobile applications such as iNaturalist, ArcGIS Field Maps, Survey123, Avenza and WeedScan being common. GPS units and pen-and-paper methods are still prevalent, particularly among private landholders and volunteer groups. Larger organisations, especially state and local government agencies, tend to use more advanced GIS-compatible systems and record a broader range of data attributes, including mapped locations, density, hectares infested and treatment details.

A key finding is the significant inconsistency in data formats, systems and recorded attributes across Victoria. While 73% of respondents have shared weed data previously and 78% are willing to share in future, almost half reported their data cannot be easily shared. Barriers include incompatible software, privacy concerns, internal policies, lack of training, intellectual property issues and differing organisational purposes for data. Paper-based records and specialised GIS formats were particularly difficult to integrate into broader collaborative frameworks.

Resource constraints also remain a major issue. Among those not collecting weed data, 42% cited lack of resources and 27% said they did not know how to record data effectively. Forum discussions reinforced that limited funding, poor mobile reception, lack of awareness of available tools, and absence of agreed data standards all hinder coordinated management.

Despite these challenges, there was strong awareness of existing collaborative projects across public and private land, and strong willingness to improve coordination. Forum participants identified several enablers of effective data sharing, including strong professional networks, accessible spatial tools (e.g. QGIS, WeedScan, iNaturalist), project momentum and supportive leadership.

The report concludes that while Community Pest Management Groups cannot resolve all systemic challenges, they are well positioned to provide leadership. Recommendations include promoting best-practice weed mapping and tools that feed into the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas; hosting networking events to strengthen cross-tenure relationships; advocating for development of standardised data dictionaries; and creating a practical decision-support tool to guide land managers on what data to collect and how to collect it consistently.

For VSTWP, improved consistency, visibility and collaboration in weed data collection presents a major opportunity to strengthen strategic serrated tussock control, support funding bids and improve long-term landscape-scale outcomes across Victoria.

The full report is available upon request.

This project was funded through the Victorian State Government under the Pest and Partnerships Grants (PAP). We thank them for the funding.