Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    Decorative image

    Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme

    Guiding energy-efficient design and construction for a net-zero future

    Find out more about NatHERS

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Office of the Science Convenor
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Decorative image

    Juukan Gorge response

    Read the Australian Government's response to the destruction at Juukan Gorge and the recommendations

    Read the response

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Environment
  3. Invasive species
  4. Feral animals in Australia
  5. Feral animals on offshore islands

Sidebar first - EN - Invasive species

  • Feral animals in Australia
    • Cane Toads
    • Feral cats
      • Curiosity® bait for feral cats
      • Request for expressions of Interest
    • Feral pigs
    • Offshore islands

Feral animals on offshore islands

Feral animals on offshore islands database

Feral goats, foxes and rabbits
 

The Australian Government, in cooperation with state and territory governments, has compiled a database listing feral vertebrate animals present on Australian offshore islands over 20 ha in size. This dataset includes records of animals that are native on the Australian mainland, but have been relocated to offshore islands. The database currently has more than 2,000 records for 154 species on 523 islands.

Download

  • Spreadsheet - Feral animals on offshore islands database (XLSX - 260.79 KB)

More than 8,300 offshore islands occur around Australia and within our external territories. These islands cover the full range of environments, from tropical to sub-Antarctic and range in size from tiny rocks and cays to extremely large land masses. For example, Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait has a circumference of only around 700 m while Melville Island in the Northern Territory covers 578,577 ha.

Offshore islands provide breeding sites and important refugia for many threatened species. They also have their own endemic species and sub species such as the Lord Howe Island currawong (Strepera graculina crissalis) and the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola). Some offshore islands provide a last refuge for species that are extinct or critically threatened on the mainland. These island populations can help facilitate fauna recovery programs on the mainland and/or other islands by providing founder stock for translocation. For these reasons, islands provide a wonderful opportunity to protect and recover our native biodiversity.

However, vertebrate pests have been introduced to, or have successfully invaded many of Australia's offshore islands. These feral animals threaten many important island species. Some key pests such as rats have been listed as key threatening processes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Australian Government is assisting the states and territories to manage the islands under their jurisdiction through identifying feral animals on offshore islands, prioritising islands for biodiversity conservation, and linking people and projects together.

Many commendable pest management plans have already been implemented on islands (e.g. black rats have been eradicated from Lord Howe Island, NSW and feral cats from Macquarie Island, TAS).

Threat abatement plan for exotic rodents on islands

In 2006 the Australian Government listed exotic rodents on islands as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and developed a threat abatement plan for rats and mice on islands less than 100 000 ha in area.

The 2009 plan and the 2015 statutory review are available at: Threat abatement plan to reduce the impacts of exotic rodents on biodiversity on Australian offshore islands of less than 100 000 hectares

The objectives of the Plan are to:

  • eradicate exotic rodents from high-priority islands
  • mitigate the impacts of exotic rodents on biodiversity values on high-priority islands where they cannot be eradicated, and
  • prevent the invasion of islands currently free of exotic rodents.

Prioritisation of high conservation status offshore islands

With approximately 8,300 offshore islands, the Australian and state and territory governments need to prioritise funds for conservation management to those islands where conservation benefits and eradication potential is greatest.

In 2009 the Department contracted an independent assessment of the conservation status of Australia's offshore islands, using the Australian Government's databases of feral animals, islands biodiversity data, threatened species distribution data, seabird breeding locations, and vegetation data. The resulting report, Prioritisation of high conservation status offshore islands, provides a priority list of 100 islands of high conservation status (greater than 200 ha in size) to help guide this prioritisation of funds.

  • Prioritisation of high conservation status offshore islands - 2009
Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 03 October 2021

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.