The government agreement allows for the diagnostic and associated consultative work to be carried out either in Victoria, South Australia or in Queensland. However, any further information that is requested is to be provided by Queensland Departmental officers. The service is provided at full cost recovery. QNIA, QFGA and NIAA have already registered and have provided their members with bar-coded membership cards entitling them to wholesale rates. Charges apply once samples are submitted for diagnosis.
Charges also apply to property visits and associated information gathering.
A fee schedule is available on request. We expected an initial dip in demand as this occurred in other states. However, southern experience also indicated a later increase in demand and this also occurred here. This increase has been due in part to an increase in demand from clients who might have been somewhat unhappy with the response time under the old scheme, and our gaining industries not previously serviced by the Department. We are interested in talking with industry groups and individual businesses who have a need for consultancy services in the nursery and ornamental crops area.