[1] The initial direction of the ISC was to lobby against all invasive species before governments and private industry, and to work with people to achieve outcomes.
[8] The ISC takes on concerns which are obvious to the public but not on governments' plans, for example in 2016, feral deer,[9][10] and for example in 2016 petitioning multiple federal and state ministers for action on fire ants.
[12][13] The ISC takes opportunities to build awareness of risks in the public mind and creating political interest, for example in 2014, in regard to the importation of dangerous weed seeds going straight through Australian quarantine checks,[14] and again in 2016 embarrassing eBay into temporary action,[15] for example in 2017, in regard to the smooth newt,[16] and that invasive species are possibly a greater threat to native Australian species than habitat loss which is dramatic and assumed to be more important.
[20] The ISC also directly undertakes basic science and research, such as in running smooth newt surveys in and around Melbourne.
[26] These awards received exceptional national media coverage, and even international coverage, when one was awarded to the Australian Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, in part for the Minister's action in regard to pet dogs incorrectly brought to Australia by the actor, Johnny Depp, and his partner, in April 2015.