Mr David Miles AM
Cooperative Research Centres Programme Review
Dear Mr Miles
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission to the Cooperative Research Centres
Programme Review.
The Invasive Animals CRC is one of the world’s largest integrated pest animal research and
management collaborations. Its five-year extension to 2017 is a $72.5 million, 27 member partnership
to develop new knowledge, products, strategies and services that deliver more strategic and efficient
pest animal control. It leverages the CRC Program investment of $19.7 million by a factor of 3.6 to1.
Response to Term of Reference A: 1.1 – 1.3
The Invasive Animals CRC example highlights how industry and the research sector are effectively
working together to create value for partner SMEs, beneficary industries, and the nation. This is
occurring against a backdrop of market failure due to insufficient margin for SMEs to warrant
significant R&D and government regulatory costs.

Access to overseas markets for partner SME. Through the CRC model, Invasive Animals
Ltd has partnered with an Australian pest animal bait manufacturer SME (Animal Control
Technologies Australia) and the US Department of Agriculture, to provide subsidised access
to the US market for IACRC IP that will be commercialised through ACTA. This has been
achieved through a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement with the USDA who
are undertaking field testing of a IA CRC 2nd generation feral pig toxic bait as an in-kind
contribution to the IACRC, and enable US EPA registration at a non-commercial rate given
that they are a Federal agency. This example shows how the CRC approach can reduce the
high cost of overseas market entry (into the world’s largest market for this product type) for a
new toxic bait commercialised through an Australian SME.

Provide new tools and strategies for Australia’s agricultural industries.
“Options available to manage pest animals were reported to have been improved over the last
five years, in large part due to the Invasive Animals CRC.”
“Stakeholders reported significant achievements in pest animal preparedness and
management driven by the Invasive Animals CRC. The Invasive Animals CRC was highly
regarded through all consultations and was report to be doing significant work that benefits
Australia’s approach to pest animal management.”
Independent Review of the Australian Pest Animal Strategy prepared for the national
Vertebrate Pests Committee
The above headline findings of the recent independent review of the Australian Pest Animal
Strategy highlights that the IA CRC is the major innovation driver for improved pest animal
management in the agricultural sector. These new tools and strategies are being developed in
response to end-user needs and structural changes - such as decreasing labour in rural
Australia and decreasing government extension services - and are part of a mix of innovations
that aim to enable wool, meat and cropping industries to more efficiently manage pest animals
and adapt to a changing operating environment.
A summary of the IACRC new toxic baits and delivery systems, as well as new strategic
biocontrol technologies are at Attachment 1. Many of these products benefit from Research
and Development Corporation partner investment and commercialisation through our major
Australian SME partner – ACTA.

Improve economic outcomes for the nation. Pest animals are a classic problem – chronic,
diffuse, pervasive, fragmented, cumulative with strong public and private good dimensions.
The Invasive Animals CRC is a cross-sectoral response whose 27 partners cover all key points
in the value chain, and thus can drive research to action to impact. This is schematically
outlined at Appendix 2. Two key features of this response need to be highlighted: firstly that
Invasive Animals Ltd staff are critical to build and sustain the collaborative institutions that
ensure a holistic and seamless progress from research to adoption, given that capability is
fragmented and dispersed, and secondly that the IA CRC enables industry RDCs to efficiently
co-invest with Commonwealth and State governments in strategic research portfolios that have
the potential to deliver strategic outcomes. An example of the latter is the IA CRCs
strategic rabbit biocontrol portfolio that aims to deliver some $1 Billion in productivity benefits
over the next 20 years.
In conclusion, the Invasive Animals CRC provides a good example of effective collaboration between
SMEs, industries, governments and research providers to drive high impact innovation. This
underscores the appropriateness and value of the CRC Program, particularly in responding to national
challenges where end-user groups are diffuse and cross-sectoral.
If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact me on (02) 6201 2887.
Yours sincerely
Andreas Glanznig
Chief Executive
11 November 2014
Attachment 1: IACRC Commercial and Biocontrol Product Pipeline
Attachment 2: Invasive Animals CRC is a virtual organisation whose 27 partners cover the
complete invasive species management innovation value chain
Hub and Spokes institutional model
meshes capabilities to a specific purpose
Innovation Spoke (eg. wild
dogs) covers full value chain.
Needs
analysis
Research
Development
Production
Marketing and
Sales / Promotion
IAL’s unique role
in building
collaborations to
ensure a holistic
and seamless
progression from
research to
adoption
Development
and regulatory
approval
Extension
and
adoption
networks
Research
Network Mgt adds
value between
Innovation Spoke
areas to ensure new
outputs overcome
any barriers
between research,
regulatory approval
and adoption
Innovation
Spoke
Innovation
Spoke
End user
serivce /
Monitoring
Network
Mgt Hub
Innovation
Spoke
Innovation
Spoke