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Fire ant environmental analysis laboratory

Fire Ant Biosecurity Zones

Sending samples from South East Queensland, South Murwillumbah, and Wardell, Northern New South Wales

Red imported fire ants (fire ants) are invasive, exotic ants that cause serious social, economic, and environmental harm. They are aggressive and have a severe, burning sting. Fire ants currently infest a large area of South East Queensland with nests now found in South Murwillumbah and Wardell, NSW.

If you are sending organic materials from within fire ant biosecurity zones, you are legally obliged to use fire ant-safe practices before moving them to a new location (Biosecurity Regulation 2016; NSW Biosecurity (Fire Ant) Emergency Order (No 4) 2023). The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) website provides more information on the Order. To check if your area falls within the zone you can search the map updated monthly on the DPI website.

Please follow the NSW entry conditions before sending samples to EAL, including treatment of material. When EAL receives samples, the packages will be either frozen to -18 ˚C or heated to 65.5 ˚C prior to analysis. This is a safety precaution for our staff. We are confident the treatment will not impact on your analytical results.

Image of a hand holding a bacteria plate

When submitting samples to EAL for the first time, you will need to register your details before submitting samples to the laboratory.

Please submit a Sample Submission Form (SSF) with every batch of samples. The Sample Submission Form was previously referred to as a Chain of Custody, or COC. It requests essential contact information for the submitting and billing client, sample details, testing requirements and special instructions. To add more pages to the excel document, type in the 'Total number of samples'.

Please consider the potential hazards involved in handling your samples. Package and label hazardous material accordingly. For example, potential asbestos samples must be sealed in a thick plastic bag and then sealed again in a second clean plastic bag. Label the outside with: 'Warning: sample may contain asbestos'.

By submitting samples, a Client agrees to the EAL Laboratory Services Terms and Conditions. These EAL Terms and Conditions are available under EAL General Information in the Document Download section, or on request.

Samples can be delivered to EAL by courier, Australia Post or in person. Toll (131 531), TNT< (131 150) and Aramex Couriers provide services to Lismore. Courier label to EAL (pdf) are available for printing.

EAL provides free, prepaid overnight Toll courier bags (3 and 5 kg); some conditions apply. Please contact EAL for courier account details.

In-person and postal deliveries:

Environmental Analysis Laboratory
Southern Cross University
PO Box 157
LISMORE 2480 NSW

Courier addresses:

Environmental Analysis Laboratory
Southern Cross University
Military Road
EAST LISMORE NSW 2480

New client registration form

Contact EAL for information

eal@scu.edu.au (02) 6620 3678 EAL Enquiry Form