Invasive marine species, or marine pests, can pose significant threats to Australia’s marine environment, industries, and social amenity. MarinePestPlan 2018-2023 was Australia’s first national strategic plan for marine pest biosecurity and outlined a coordinated approach to strengthening Australia’s capabilities to manage marine pests. A formal review of MarinePestPlan identified that the plan was successful in improving Australia’s marine pest biosecurity system, including in areas relating to research and development (R&D). R&D informs risk analysis and enhances decision-making capabilities, which enables us to identity, prepare for, and manage marine biosecurity threats as the biosecurity threat landscape continues to evolve. This presentation will highlight the achievements of MarinePestPlan 2018-2023 and the notable R&D outcomes arising from the plan’s implementation, including analysis of vector pathways and high-risk locations, improved surveillance and diagnostic tools, a greater understanding of marine pest biology, spread dynamics and impacts, and insights into marine pest R&D networks. We will also be providing a brief overview for development of the second MarinePestPlan and how we are engaging with the marine science community to participate in this process. Having a strong marine pest biosecurity system is underpinned by robust scientific knowledge and contributions from the scientific community.