Threatened species & ecological communities

Nominating a species, ecological community or key threatening process under the EPBC Act

Any person may nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under any of the categories specified in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Nomination and listing process

An overview of the nomination and listing process is provided in the nomination process flowchart.

An invitation to nominate is extended by the Minister each year ahead of a new assessment cycle. Nominations submitted within the advertised invitation period and that satisfy the EPBC Regulations are forwarded to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, who prepare a Proposed Priority Assessment List of nominations for consideration by the Minister.

The Minister considers the Proposed Priority Assessment List (PPAL) developed by the Committee and may make changes. The finalised priority assessment list (FPAL) is published on this website and nominators will be notified of the outcome.

Nominations included in the FPAL are assessed by the Committee within the timeframe set by the Minister. The Committee will invite public and expert comment on these nominations during the assessment period.

The Committee's advice is forwarded to the Minister, who decides whether the species, ecological community or key threatening process is eligible for listing under the EPBC Act.

For a comprehensive understanding of the provisions relating to nominations and listing, please refer directly to the EPBC Act and Regulations.

Making a nomination

Nominations have now closed for the assessment period starting 1 October 2013 for any threatened species, threatened ecological communities or key threatening processes to be considered for listing under national environment law.

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is currently developing a strategic approach to prioritising key threatening process assessments. If you are considering making a nomination for a key threatening process for the next assemssment period, you may wish to discuss the potential nomination first with the Director of the Species Listing Section (at contact details provided below). Other information about key threatening processes under the EPBC Act is at Key Threatening Processes page.

Nominations can be submitted for the assessment period starting 1 October 2014 at any time. Further details about the next assessment period and conservation theme will be available later in 2013.

Before submitting a nomination

Please note and use the nomination forms and guidelines provided below. Before you submit a nomination for a species, ecological community or key threatening process, please check to see if it is 1) already listed on a current EPBC Act list, 2) currently under assessment, 3) previously assessed and found to be unsuccessful or 4) removed from the EPBC Act lists. For ecological community nominations also refer to the list of potential gaps in national protection identified in the report of the National Threatened Ecological Communities Strategic Workshop.

1) Current EPBC Act lists

2) Current Assessments

3) Unsuccessful nominations

4) Removed from the EPBC Act lists

Advice and recovery plans

To assist you in preparing your nomination, it is recommended that you read recent advice developed by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee. Recovery plans for threatened species and threatened ecological communities may also be a useful information source.

EPBC Regulations checklist

To be eligible for consideration by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, nominations must contain all information required by Division 7.2 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000  (the Regulations).

A checklist has been provided to assist nominators in identifying information that is required. Nominators are not required to complete the checklist. It is simply provided as a tool so that nominators may ensure their nomination contains the required information and can be considered for assessment.

If the required information is not available because of a lack of scientific data or analysis, it is a requirement of the Regulations that the nomination includes an explicit statement that the data are not available for that question.

Nomination forms and guidelines

These forms cover the requirements of the EPBC Regulations. Please use the following nomination forms and guidelines to prepare your nomination:

Threatened species

For listing or changing the conservation status of a native species under the EPBC Act:

For delisting a native species under the EPBC Act:

Threatened ecological communities

For listing or changing the conservation status of an ecological community under the EPBC Act:

The Guidelines and Nomination form are the key documents for preparing nominations, however, it is advised that you also consider the following document before preparing a full nomination:

As an example of an ecological community nomination which provides the type and quality of information required to enable consideration for assessment see below. (Please note that this example uses an older version of the nominations form.)

Key threatening processes

For listing a key threatening process under the EPBC Act:

Submitting your nomination

Completed nominations may be lodged either electronically (preferred) or in hard copy. Where possible, hard copy submissions should be accompanied by an electronic copy on CD.

Electronically

epbc.nominations@environment.gov.au

Mail

Director, Species Listing Section
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

For further information, contact the Director of the Species Listing Section:

Public notices

Open for public comment under the EPBC Act:

EPBC Act lists

Search online

| Accessibility | Disclaimer | Privacy | © Commonwealth of Australia | Help |
Last updated: Thursday, 09-May-2013 10:22:18 EST