Eastern Mallee Bird Community

How can I get involved?

Read the consultation documents

The draft scientific assessment, in the Draft Conservation Advice document, concludes that the ecological community is likely to be eligible for listing as Endangered, based on evidence that it has undergone a severe decline in functionally important bird species that are members of the ecological community, and a severe reduction in integrity due to threatening processes. This has affected ecological processes and resulted in a subsequent decline and/or change to the mallee habitats and the bird fauna of the ecological community.

Draft Conservation Advice for the Eastern Mallee Bird Community (PDF - 2.25 MB) - replaced 24 July 2020
Draft Conservation Advice for the Eastern Mallee Bird Community (DOCX - 8.19 MB) - replaced 24 July 2020

A Consultation Guide for Landholders, including an indicative distribution map, is also provided to help the public understand what the Eastern Mallee Bird Community and listing of ecological communities under the EPBC Act means for people who may have the ecological community on their property.

Eastern Mallee Bird Ecological Community – Consultation Guide for Landowners (PDF - 639.25 KB) - replaced 27 July 2020
Eastern Mallee Bird Ecological Community – Consultation Guide for Landowners (DOCX - 6.92 MB) - replaced 27 July 2020

Guidelines for Nominating and Assessing Threatened Ecological Communities

The Guidelines for Nominating and Assessing Ecological Communities are also available to explain the criteria and concepts by which an ecological community can be determined as threatened in a particular conservation category.

Guidelines for Nominating and Assessing Threatened Ecological Communities (PDF - 992.04 KB)
Guidelines for Nominating and Assessing Threatened Ecological Communities (DOCX - 4.2 MB)

Send your comments

The Committee welcomes the views of experts, land and water managers, Traditional Owners, other stakeholders and the general public on the Draft Conservation Advice document for the ecological community.

The public consultation period closes on 28 August 2020.

A set of Questions to guide your comments is also provided, below.

You are welcome to forward this request to advise other relevant key people or groups in your networks about this opportunity for comment. We would greatly appreciate your help to get input from other agencies and groups involved with biodiversity conservation, land management, primary industries and planning.

Questions to guide comments

1. Does the description in the Draft Conservation Advice document clearly and accurately describe the proposed ecological community, including its distribution? If not, how should it be amended, in particular to help with on-ground identification and management?
2. Is the list of component birds for the Eastern Mallee Bird Community and the broad description of mallee habitats accurate? If not, what species or features should be added or removed?
3. What other features or species are characteristic of the ecological community and how do they contribute to or utilise its resources?
4. Are the key diagnostic characteristics sufficient to identify the ecological community and its habitats to differentiate it from other ecological communities in the region? If not, how should they be modified?
5. Information on the key threats to the ecological community is provided in the Draft Conservation Advice document. Are the key threats that are currently affecting the ecological community, or threats likely to affect the community in the future, adequately identified? If not, please provide further information, along with sources for your information.
6. Are you aware of additional data or other clear evidence of these threats and their likely impacts on the ecological community in the immediate, medium or long-term future?
7. The Draft Conservation Advice document concludes that the ecological community is likely to be eligible for listing as Endangered. Do you agree? If not, what do you propose is the appropriate conservation category for the ecological community, and what evidence do you have to support this in relation to the six regulated listing criteria?
8. Do you have any further comments or information about the ecological community that should be considered for the listing assessment?

Please support your comments with information and data, preferably supported by published studies or observations. If some of that information is not published, would you be willing to be quoted as an expert or source (“personal communication”)?

Please use the contact details, below, if you want more advice or help about this assessment. If you wish to comment, please send your comments quoting the ecological community name to:

Email: epbc.nominations@environment.gov.au

Mail: The Director
Ecological Communities Section
Department of the Environment and Energy
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601

Privacy and confidentiality in regard to comments received

Submissions received will be forwarded to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee and, subsequently, to the Minister for the Environment.

Information contained in any comments will be stored and used by the department in compliance with its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

If you wish your comments to remain confidential, you should clearly mark the relevant part(s) of your comments as ‘confidential’. Notwithstanding any obligations of confidentiality, the department may be required by law or parliamentary process to disclose, or allow disclosure of, any information contained in or relating to any comments (including personal and/or confidential information), including in response to a request by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).