# Department of Primary Industries (Queensland)

The Department of Primary Industries is the Queensland Government department responsible for developing Queensland's primary industries. The section known as Biosecurity Queensland is responsible for biosecurity matters within the state.
The department was called the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries prior to November 2024.

## Functions

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries provides expertise and support that increases primary industries productivity, expands markets and assists with adaption to change. It conducts research, policy advice, protects against pests and diseases, maintains animal welfare standards, as well as managing fisheries.

## History

The first functions of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries began in 1855 when a sheep scab inspector began work in the New South Wales colony of Moreton Bay. After Queensland's Separation, livestock diseases were addressed through regulations administered by the Stock Branch in the Queensland Colonial Secretary's Office. The Stock Branch was established by the Queensland chief inspector of stock Patrick Robertson Gordon.
The department has been formerly known by various title, with various legislative responsibilities. Its previous names have been:
* Department of Agriculture (17 June 1887 – 1 January 1904)
* Department of Agriculture and Stock (1 January 1904 – 26 September 1963)
* Department of Primary Industries (26 September 1963 – 26 February 1996)
* Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Forestry (26 February 1996 – 29 June 1998)
* Department of Primary Industries (29 June 1998 – 12 February 2004)
* Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (12 February 2004 – 25 March 2009)
* Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (25 March 2009 – 3 April 2012)
* Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (3 April 2012 – 16 February 2015)
* Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (16 February 2015 - 1 November 2024)

## Biosecurity

The Biosecurity Queensland section is responsible for coordinating efforts to minimise the risks and effects of threatening pests and diseases. Biosecurity Queensland is responsible for weed management in the state.
In 2009, Biosecurity Queensland was successful in its attempt to eradicate a citrus canker outbreak in Central Queensland.
The Tree of Knowledge was successfully cloned in 2008 by workers at the former Department of Primary Industries.
The overarching federal legislation, Biosecurity Act 2015, the state's Biosecurity Act 2014, and the Queensland Biosecurity Strategy 2018–2023 govern and guide the department's responsibilities with regard to biosecurity.

## Research

In 2009, Primary Industries and Fisheries (now Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) together with the University of Queensland were granted federal funding to study how methane emissions from cattle and sheep could be reduced.

## Publications

From 1897 to 1921 the department published the Queensland Agricultural Journal.

## Notable staff

* George Alexander Currie, agricultural scientist
* Alexandre Arsène Girault, entomologist
* Ernest James Goddard, science coordinator
* Bela "Bert" Grof, agricultural researcher
* Christopher Sheehy, dairy administrator
* Lindsay Stuart Smith, botanist