Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) has been detected in South Perth. A response is underway to support eradication and protect Western Australia’s horticultural industries.

Current Status

The Quarantine Area established on 17 April 2026 remains in place as response and eradication activities continue across South Perth and surrounding suburbs. DPIRD Operations are progressing as planned, with a focus on baiting, property visits, surveillance and community engagement to the prevent further spread of Qfly.

The Quarantine Area consists of the:

· Red Zone (Corrective Action Zone) – intensive eradication activities, including movement controls

· Orange Zone (Export Assurance Zone – buffer area with movement controls in place

The Red Zone (Corrective Action Zone)

The Red Zone is an area within a 1.5km radius around the Qfly detections. Activities within the zone include intensive street tree baiting, property inspections, supplementary trap deployment and significant community engagement.

The restrictions on residents and businesses in the Red Zone include:

Residents and businesses must remove ripe and ripening fruit and fruiting vegetables from host plants every three days.
Fallen fruit must be picked up, treated and disposed of immediately.
Fruit must either be eaten immediately or treated before disposing of in the general waste bin.
Home grown host fruit and fruiting vegetables must not be moved within or out of the Red Zone unless it has been treated.

The Orange Zone (Export Assurance Zone)

The Orange Zone is an area within a 15km radius around the Qfly detections. This zone acts as a buffer to prevent further spread of the pest.

The restrictions on residents and businesses in the Orange Zone include:

Host fruit and fruiting vegetables must not be moved outside of the zone unless they have been treated.
Host fruit and fruiting vegetables moving within the Orange Zone, or into the Red Zone must be maintained under secure conditions (covered, in packaging, fully enclosed or screened) to ensure the produce des not become infested.
The Chief Plant Biosecurity Officer Approved Measures for the movement of fruit or host plants can be found on wa.gov.au/qfly

Perth Markets fall within the Orange Zone and the Incident Response Team is working closely with the market agents and growers to ensure the risk of Qfly is minimised.

The full Quarantine Area Notice can be found on wa.gov.au/qfly

Stakeholder and Community Engagement

Our Community Engagement Officers have been attending weekend markets and holding pop-up stalls at key locations across the Quarantine Area to increase Qfly awareness among the community and market vendors.

"Face-to-face interactions with the community have been very positive at pop-up stalls and markets. Residents are interested in what they can do to help eradicate Qfly and they understand the importance of ridding WA of this pest," said Community Engagement Officer Nick Taylor.

"Market vendors selling fruits and vegetables at weekend markets have also been very engaged with the response and eager to ensure they are following Quarantine Area requirements, like keeping their produce appropriately covered," he said.

Upcoming Qfly market stalls:

· Subi Farmers Market - Saturday 13 June

· Perth Markets (Community Market) - Saturday 14 June

· Kyilla Community Farmers Market - Saturday 20 June

· Vic Park Market - Sunday 21 June

· Manning Farmers Market - Saturday 27 June

· Palmyra Western Farmers Market - Sunday 28 June

If you would like to discuss hosting a pop-up stall or other engagement opportunities please contact QFlyComoSPerth2026PublicInformationManager@dpird.wa.gov.au.

What else are DPIRD Doing

To prevent further spread of Qfly, response activities have achieved the following to date:

· 17,610 premises visits have been completed

· 5,743 lures have been deployed

· 326 fruit samples have been collected for analysis

· 2,522L of Naturalure bait has been applied to street trees

· 2,150kg of homegrown fruit has been collected from the Red Zone for proper disposal

Field teams remain focused on surveillance, baiting, lure deployment, and sample collection to support containment and eradication efforts.

Compliance Officers continue to attend local markets across the Quarantine Area each weekend to ensure that vendors selling fresh produce are complying with Quarantine Area Notice requirements, including keeping produce appropriately covered at all times.

Implications for Industry

Quarantine zones and movement controls remain in place to manage biosecurity risk and protect market access.

· Movement restrictions for host fruit and fruiting vegetables continue to apply within the Red and Orange Zones.

· Businesses operating within, or moving produce through, the quarantine area must ensure compliance with approved movement and treatment requirements.

Perth Markets fall within the Orange Zone, and work is ongoing to minimise risk while supporting continuity of trade.

Industry Webinar

For those who may have missed the Qfly industry webinar held on 6 May 2026, a recording of the session is now available, providing an overview of the Qfly response, the Quarantine Area and what this means for industry.

Watch the webinar

For further information, including movement requirements and approved measures, visit wa.gov.au/qfly. For questions not covered on the website, contact the team at qfly@dpird.wa.gov.au

Working with Industry

We are committed to keeping industry informed and engaged throughout the response. Stakeholder feedback will continue to inform response activities where appropriate.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in the response to Qfly.

Reporting and Information

Suspected Qfly can be reported to the Pest and Disease Information Service on 9368 3080 or via the MyPestGuide® Reporter app.

Up-to-date information is available at: wa.gov.au/qfly

For enquiries or further support, contact: qfly@dpird.wa.gov.au

Queensland Fruit Fly (QFly) South Perth Outbreak update 15 June 2026