Threatened Species and threatened ecological communities
Threatened fauna and flora may be listed in any one of the following categories as defined in Section 179 of the EPBC Act:
* Only species in those categories marked with an asterix are matters of national environmental significance (protected matters) under the EPBC Act.
The assessment of species as threatened fauna or threatened flora is the first step to promoting their recovery under Commonwealth law.
Any person may nominate a native species for listing under any of the threatened species categories.
An invitation to nominate is extended by the Minister each year ahead of a new assessment cycle. Nominations received during the invitation period are considered by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) for inclusion in a Proposed Priority Assessment List.
Nominations included on the Finalised Priority Assessment List are assessed by the Committee, which makes these nominations available for public and expert comment. After assessment, the Committee's advice is forwarded to the Minister, who decides whether a species is eligible for listing under the EPBC Act.
For further information on the nominations process read:
Once a species is listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) its recovery is promoted using conservation advice, recovery plans, and the EPBC Act's assessment and approval provisions.
Conservation advice is developed by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee based on the best available information regarding the conservation status and threats to an ecological community at the time of listing. Conservation Advice provides guidance on known threats and priority recovery actions for an ecological community that can be immediately undertaken at a local and regional level.
In addition to conservation advice, the Threatened Species Scientific Committee also provides to the Minister a recommendation on the need for a recovery plan for listed species. Recovery plans are comprehensive management tools that enable recovery activities for threatened species to occur within a planned and logical framework. Recovery plans describe key threats and identify specific recovery actions and can be for either single or multiple species, or based on a region.
Listed threatened species are matters of national environmental significance (protected matters) under the EPBC Act's assessment and approval provisions.
A person must not take an action that has, will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on a listed threatened ecological community, without approval from the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
To obtain approval, an action must undergo an environmental assessment and approval process. To find out whether an action is likely to have a 'significant' impact on a listed threatened species, see the EPBC Act Policy Statements
For a comprehensive understanding of the provisions relating to listed threatened species, you should refer directly to the:
For general information about threatened species and threatened ecological communities contact the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources Community Information Unit - Email: ciu@environment.gov.au or Freecall 1800 803 772.
