Barbara Hall is a plant pathologist with over thiry years experience in diseases of Horticultural crops, and currently works as a Senior Research Scientist within the Horticulture Pathology Unit of the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). Barbara manages the Horticultural diagnostic service and the Quarantine unit within SARDI, overseeing the Post Entry Plant Quarantine Facility and ensuring the campus is compliant with AQIS requirements for receiving and handling quarantine material. Barbara coordinates and supervises research projects undertaken within the unit, and manages the South Australian component of several national vegetable pathology projects, both broad acre and greenhouse.

Barbara has been involved in biosecurity for many years, more recently as a member of the sub-committee for Plant Health Diagnostic Standards (SPHDS) which develops and recommends national standard processes related to plant pest diagnostics. She is the chair of the Diagnostic Standards Working Group, which promotes and facilitates the development of diagnostic protocols for EPPs and endemic pests of national significance.