Comments on this assessment closed 7 February 2022. The text and documents below remain available for reference only.
Comment on Listing Assessments
About the assessments
The 2019/20 bushfires had catastrophic impacts on Australia’s wildlife and ecological communities. Many ecological communities which were not listed as threatened prior to the bushfires may now be eligible for inclusion on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) list of threatened ecological communities.
In response to this, the Australian Government Minister for the Environment included several fire-affected ecological communities on the Finalised Priority Assessment List. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) is undertaking assessments of these nominated ecological communities to determine their eligibility for listing and preparing Conservation Advice for each ecological community. They are due to provide their recommendations on the first seven of these to the Minister by 30 April 2022.
Invitation to comment
You are invited to provide your views on the assessments of and draft Conservation Advice for the following fire-affected ecological communities:
- Araluen Scarp Grassy Forest
- Ben Halls Gap Sphagnum Moss Cool Temperate Rainforest
- Brogo Wet Vine Forest of the South East Corner Bioregion
- Dunn’s white gum (Eucalyptus dunnii) moist forest in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland
- Grey Box (Eucalyptus moluccana) - Grey Gum (Eucalyptus propinqua) Wet Forest of Subtropical Eastern Australia
- Mount Kaputar Highland and Rainforest Snail and Slug Community
- Subtropical eucalypt forest on the floodplains of eastern Australia
All seven ecological communities are proposed for inclusion in the Endangered category, or potentially Critically Endangered for Ben Halls Gap Sphagnum Moss Cool Temperate Rainforest, on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) list of threatened ecological communities.
The Committee particularly seeks comments on whether the nominated items are eligible for listing and whether the proposed conservation status for each is appropriate. Any other relevant comments and information about these ecological communities or Conservation Advice documents also are invited.
How can I get involved?
Read the consultation documents
Araluen Scarp Grassy Forest
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 1.6 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 1.4 MB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 3 MB)
Ben Halls Gap Sphagnum Moss Cool Temperate Rainforest
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 2.1 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 1.5 MB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 3.7 MB)
Brogo Wet Vine Forest of the South East Corner Bioregion
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 1.8 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 1.5 MB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 2.3 MB)
Dunn’s white gum (Eucalyptus dunnii) moist forest in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 1.2 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 1.1 MB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 7.3 MB)
Grey Box (Eucalyptus moluccana) - Grey Gum (Eucalyptus propinqua) Wet Forest of Subtropical Eastern Australia
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 1.5 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 674 KB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 6.9 MB)
Mount Kaputar Highland and Rainforest Snail and Slug Community
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 911 KB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 363 KB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 3.8 MB)
Subtropical eucalypt forest on the floodplains of eastern Australia
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (PDF - 1.7 MB)
- Draft Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) (DOCX - 604 KB)
- Indicative distribution map (PDF - 971 KB)
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.
Send your comments
The Committee welcomes the views of experts, land managers, First Nations peoples, other stakeholders and the general public on each draft Conservation Advice for these ecological communities.
The public consultation period closes on 7 February 2022.
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 can be found within each Draft Conservation Advice.
Please support your comments with information and data, preferably supported by published studies or observations. If some of that information is not published, please indicate if you are willing to be quoted as an expert or source (“personal communication”).
Responses are to be provided in writing either by email to: EPBCNOM@environment.gov.au
or by mail to:
The Director
Ecological Communities Section
Protected Species and Communities Branch
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
Privacy
Submissions received will be forwarded to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee and, subsequently, to the Minister for the Environment.
Personal information that you provide will only be used for these purposes. Personal information may be disclosed to employees of Australian Government agencies assisting the Committee for the purposes outlined above. The Department will deal with personal information contained in, or provided in relation to, responses in accordance with its Privacy Policy.