Species of National Environmental Significance

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About the data

Carinascincus greeni, alpine cool-skink
Carinascincus greeni, alpine cool-skink

Species of National Environmental Significance are protected under Australia’s national environment laws. The Act is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). This dataset shows where we predict that:

  • nationally protected species will occur
  • their habitat will occur.

How we create the data

We model the distribution of threatened species using:

  • species occurrence records
  • environmental data such as vegetation, climate and soil
  • expert advice about species traits and habitat needs.

The models:

  • predict potential habitat
  • are suitable at regional to national scales.

Species of National Environmental Significance dataset

The species distribution models are published for public use. The dataset contains models for nationally protected threatened species.

We have improved the data to make them suitable for a wider range of applications. This includes project assessments and conservation planning. The data are now at a nominal 100m resolution. To protect the location of sensitive species, we have generalised some locations. We will apply enhanced modelling methods to further improve the data over time.

We update the data when:

  • species lists under the EPBC Act change
  • new information becomes available.

Each update supersedes all previous versions.

Density of threatened and migratory species habitat distributions dataset

The density of threatened and migratory species habitat distributions dataset is a national summary. It summarises the terrestrial species distribution models.

Relative Habitat Importance for Threatened and Migratory Species dataset

The Relative Habitat Importance dataset shows which areas in Australia are important for threatened and migratory species protected under the EPBC Act. Higher scores highlight places that are especially important for species with small, restricted ranges.

More information

For more information on the Species of National Environmental Significance dataset and how the species distribution models were developed, see:

For information about the Relative Habitat Importance for Threatened and Migratory Species dataset see:

For information about listed species, including listing status and links to documents, see:

Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)

For information about protection of species under the EPBC Act, see:

Threatened species & ecological communities

Download the latest GIS data

Contact

For more information, or to provide feedback, email: eia.feedback@dcceew.gov.au.