Any person or organisation can nominate an item to the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) for addition to the Threatened List or the Processes List.
The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (the FFG Act) provides for the listing of taxa (genera, species, subspecies and varieties), threatened communities of flora and fauna and potentially threatening processes.
There are 3 lists:
Over 2,000 species, communities and threats are currently listed under the Act.
Previously, Victoria had multiple lists of threatened species - those listed under the FFG Act, and non-statutory lists called the Victorian Threatened Species Advisory Lists.
Amendments to the FFG Act, which came into effect on June 1, 2020, removed duplication by establishing a single comprehensive list of threatened flora and fauna species. This continues to be known as the FFG Act Threatened List. With the new comprehensive list in effect from June 2021, the Advisory lists have been revoked.
The Conservation Status Assessment project oversaw the task of ensuring every species of flora and fauna on the FFG Act Threatened List has an assessment that is compliant with the common assessment method. Assessments are accessible via the Threatened Species Assessment Report tool in NatureKit. Threatened Communities and Potentially Threatening Processes have not been reassessed, however, the Final Recommendation Reports are provided for these on the Final Recommendation Reports page.
For more information about the FFG Act lists, please email threatened.species@deeca.vic.gov.au.
The following item was removed from the Threatened List in June 2024:
The Final Recommendation Report for this item is available below:
The following item was added to the Threatened List in February 2024:
The Final Recommendation Report for this item is available below:
Amendments were made to the Threatened List in June 2023. These amendments were made in accordance with the common assessment method and include the addition of new EPBC Act listed species and updated EPBC Act listings for species that occur in Victoria.
Below is a summary of the changes:
Table numbers refer to the tables in the Final Recommendation Report, which contains the full list of amendments and is available below:
Further information on the Common Assessment Method (CAM) and Memorandum of Understanding between the states, territories and Commonwealth, which has implications for the FFG Threatened List, can be found here: Intergovernmental memorandum of understanding - Agreement on a common assessment method for listing of threatened species and threatened ecological communities
The following item was added to the Threatened List in May 2023:
The following item was added to the Processes List in May 2023:
The Final Recommendation Reports of these items are available below:
The following items were added to the Threatened List in September 2022:
The Final Recommendation Reports of these items are available below:
The following item was added to the Threatened List in October 2021:
The Final Recommendation Report of this item is available below:
The following item was added to the Threatened List in October 2021:
The Final Recommendation Report of this item is available below:
Prior to June 2021, Victoria had multiple lists of threatened species - those listed under the FFG Act, and non-statutory lists called the Victorian Threatened Species Advisory Lists.
Amendments to the FFG Act removed duplication by establishing a single comprehensive list of threatened flora and fauna species, continued to be known as the FFG Act Threatened List. With the new comprehensive list now in effect, the Advisory lists have been revoked.
The Conservation Status Assessment project oversaw the task of ensuring every species of flora and fauna on the FFG Act Threatened List has an assessment that is compliant with the common assessment method. Assessments are accessible via the Threatened Species Assessment Report tool in NatureKit. Threatened Communities and Potentially Threatening Processes were not reassessed, however, the Final Recommendation Reports are provided for these on the Final Recommendation Reports page.
The SAC is established under section 8 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act), and its functions are:
(a) to advise the Minister for Environment on the listing of taxa or communities of flora and fauna and potentially threatening processes
(b) to advise the Minister on any other flora and fauna conservation matters
The SAC consists of 7 to 9 scientists from government, education or private sector backgrounds appointed by the Minister for Environment. The majority are not Victorian Government employees. All members are knowledgeable and experienced in flora or fauna conservation or ecology. The convenor of the SAC is a non-government scientist.
Michelle has a PhD in Botany and is Principal at Charophyte Services, a consultancy aimed at providing best practice, scientific research, information and assessment concerning water plants and wetlands. Michelle lives and works on a fine-wool merino and cropping farm near Lake Bolac. Michelle is recognised as an international expert in the algal family Characeae, and maintains her research interest through formal associations with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, the New York Botanic Garden and The Natural History Museum, London. Michelle was appointed to the Committee in 2018 and appointed as Convenor in 2020.
David is a terrestrial botanist whose research interest is in the evolutionary history of the Southern Hemisphere flora. He has extensive field experience in Antarctica, South America, southern Africa, New Zealand and Australia. He has previously been senior research scientist with the British Antarctic Survey (Cambridge, UK) and senior curator in the Department of Palaeobotany Swedish Museum of Natural History (Stockholm, Sweden). He is Chief Botanist and Director of the National Herbarium of Victoria at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and holds an honorary professorship at the University of Melbourne in the School of BioScience. Professor Cantrill is appointed as a member with expertise in the areas of vascular flora or communities of flora in terrestrial environments, and potentially threatening processes. David was appointed to the Committee in 2008.
Matt is an experienced botanist with expertise in the ecology and management of southeast Australia’s flora. His experience and research interests include bryophyte ecology, plant physiology and biodiversity policy. Matt has undertaken surveys widely across Victoria and elsewhere, including numerous assessments of impacts to threatened plants and ecological communities. His previous roles have included principal at leading consultancies, science panel member for a water authority, research supervisor, expert witness and technical reviewer for major projects in Victoria. Matt contributes his expertise on non-vascular plants, vascular plants, ecological communities and threatening processes. Matt was appointed to the Committee in 2018.
Pete is an ecologist with a broad range of interests in forest ecology, plant-animal interactions, invasion biology and ecological management and restoration. He has particular expertise in the ecology of rainforests, and maintains long-term research programs in Victoria, Queensland and Christmas Island. He is a former Head of Department, and he coordinates the Bachelor of Wildlife and Conservation Biology degree at La Trobe University. Pete was appointed to the Committee in 2022.
David is the Professor of Plant Pathology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at The University of Sydney. He teaches undergraduate courses at all levels and supervises PhD and Research Masters students. His current research focuses on the constraints faced by smallholder farmers in tropical horticulture that limit adoption of improved crop management and improved livelihoods, and the management of Phytophthora diseases in Australian environments. He has extensive partnerships with national and international research institutes and farming communities, serves on the Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, Scientists Australia for Gender Equity, Sydney ID, the Sydney Vietnam Centre, the MARS Chocolate Research Advisory Board, Scientific Advisory Committee for the Victorian Minister for Environment, and is an Honorary Associate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. He is Past-President and Fellow of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society and Past President of the Asian Association of Societies of Plant Pathology. He is a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and was awarded a Career Medal for Agriculture and Rural Development by the Government of Vietnam. David was appointed to the Committee in 2022.
Pia is a Senior Scientist in the Wildlife Research Section at the Arthur Rylah Institute, where she conducts applied research on the management and conservation of Victoria’s threatened fauna. She is also a Senior Research Fellow with the Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Group at RMIT University, and an Honorary Fellow with the Quantitative and Applied Ecology Group at the University of Melbourne. Pia’s research spans the conservation sciences and incorporates elements of landscape and urban ecology, biodiversity policy, movement ecology, conservation planning and human-wildlife conflict. Pia was also formerly a member of the Executive of the Australasian Bat Society and a Board Member for Wildlife Victoria. Pia was appointed to the Committee in 2020.
Linda held positions at La Trobe University before moving to Zoology at University of Melbourne in 2005, where she is currently an honorary research fellow at the Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group (PEARG). She has extensive research experience in biological monitoring, biodiversity assessment, and invertebrate conservation and ecology with particular interest in the role of invertebrates as indicators of environmental sustainability and in the control of pest species in agriculture. Linda is appointed as a member with expertise in the areas of invertebrate fauna in terrestrial environments and potentially threatening processes. Linda was appointed to the Committee in 2016.
Susanna is a plant ecologist with a wealth of research experience in the processes that shape alpine ecosystems. Her research focusses on how snow influences plant community patterns, (re)assembly and ecological processes. Susanna works at Deakin University as a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Botany and leads the eXtreme Plant Ecology Research Team in the Centre for Integrative Ecology. Susanna was appointed to the Committee in 2018.
For further information on any recommendations of the SAC, please contact the SAC as follows:
Email:
Post:
Secretary, Scientific Advisory Committee
Environment, Climate Action and First Peoples
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action
PO Box 500 EAST MELBOURNE VIC 8002
Preliminary recommendations inform the public of the SAC’s assessment of nominations. There is currently one preliminary recommendation open for public comment until 16 September 2024.
To make a submission to the SAC:
DEECA Customer Service Centre: Phone 136 186
Items on the Threatened List requiring amendment
The SAC has made the preliminary recommendation that the following items on the FFG Act Threatened List be amended.
The SAC has made the final recommendation that the following item be specified on the Processes List under the FFG Act. This item is currently being considered by the Minister for Environment and the Minister for Agriculture.
Final Recommendation Reports (FRRs) are produced by the SAC and provide evidence for whether a nomination for listing should be supported or not supported. An FRR is the SAC's final recommendation to the Minister for Environment and Minister for Agriculture (following the 30-day public consultation period of the Preliminary Recommendation Report).
NatureKit has introduced a Threatened Species Assessment Report search tool which provides a 2021 assessment report, a SAC FRR, or an EPBC Conservation Advice (whichever is most current) for each listed species. FRRs for ecological communities and potentially threatening processes are provided on the Final Recommendation Reports page.
Following the final recommendation(s) of the SAC, the Minister for Environment and Minister for Agriculture publish their joint Notice of Decision on the nomination(s).
There are currently no new Notices of Decision.
The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has produced a set of descriptions of Victorian threatened communities. The purpose of the descriptions is to help field recognition of the various communities of flora and fauna currently listed as 'threatened' under the FFG Act.
The descriptions are based on final recommendation reports produced by the SAC. They include the location of the community in Victoria and details of the plant and animal species that occur in each community.
Members of the public or organisations can make nominations for the SAC to consider for listing. You may also nominate an already listed taxon for reassessment.
When the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) makes a recommendation regarding a nomination in accordance with the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (the Act), a report is prepared outlining that the nomination should either be supported or not be supported and a summary of the evidence supporting it. These reports form the basis for public submissions, in the case of preliminary recommendations, or for the Minister's decision, in the case of final recommendations.
More information on how to nominate is provided on the Nominating an item page.
The Commonwealth and most state and territory governments, including Victoria, have signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deliver a Common Assessment Method (CAM) for assessing the conservation status of all Australian threatened species.
The CAM establishes a consistent approach to assessing and listing threatened species. Assessments are based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria and conform to standards developed by a national Working Group representing all jurisdictions. Under the CAM, each state or territory will have a single operational list of threatened species.
Note: Under the CAM, “species” is a general term that includes species, subspecies, varieties and hybrids, referred to as “taxa” in the assessment documentation.
From 2018 to 2021, the Department undertook the Conservation Status Assessment (CSA) project to re-assess the conservation status of the over 2,000 plants, animals and fungi that were considered to be rare or threatened in Victoria.
The purpose of the project was to consolidate the previous multiple lists of threatened species into a single Threatened List under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) in Victoria. This included species listed as:
Species were excluded from the assessments if they:
The FFG Threatened List represents Victoria’s single operational list of threatened species. The List contains the scientific name and common name of each species, its extinction risk in Australia or Victoria and the category of threat (i.e. conservation status – Extinct, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, and for fish only, Conservation Dependent).
A threatened species is at risk of extinction in Australia if it:
A species is at risk of extinction in Victoria if it:
The new Threatened list of 1,993 species, published in June 2021, consists of 49 mammals, 104 birds, 40 reptiles, 15 amphibians, 37 fish, 124 invertebrates, 1,556 vascular plants, 60 non-vascular plants and 8 fungi and lichens.
Note – three species that were previously listed under the FFG Act but were not assessed as part of this process remain listed, under the general category of Threatened in Victoria.
Eleven species were removed from the Threatened List. Four were assessed as not threatened, based on new information. Three are species that are no longer considered native to Victoria. Four had invalid taxonomy, which means they are no longer recognised as a species.
Each species is assessed against the IUCN criteria, including the population extent and number, degree of decline and ongoing and future threats. A species may be assessed as threatened based on one or more of these criteria. The highest category of threat that a species is assessed against will apply.
Under the FFG Act if the conservation status of a listed species requires changing, or for species to be added to the list, they must have a CAM compliant assessment. EPBC-listed species that do not have a CAM compliant assessment are termed “legacy” species. In Victoria, the CSA project assessed species only in Victoria and the assessment therefore applies only to their status in Victoria. This can be different to the EPBC listing status. Over time all the legacy species will be re-assessed under the CAM by the Commonwealth. This means that during this transition period, some species will be listed under different categories under the FFG Act and EPBC Act as the status of a species under a non-CAM compliant EPBC listing may be different from its CAM-compliant Victorian status.
Federally, a species’ EPBC status applies for any processes or regulations under that legislation. Once the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment undertakes a CAM compliant national assessment, Victoria will then be required to adopt their status under the FFG Act, as per the CAM MoU.
Some EPBC-listed species met the criteria for a higher category when assessed at the Victorian scale, but under the CAM, can only be listed with their national status (as long as it is CAM-compliant). For example, a species with a CAM compliant national assessment and listed under the EPBC Act as Vulnerable, may be considered Endangered within its Victorian range, but will be listed as Vulnerable on the FFG Threatened List. However, action statements will be prepared for these species describing threats and management actions relevant in Victoria and not based on their national status.
A significant number of taxa were upgraded from a lower conservation status to a higher one, particularly among the plants. There are several reasons for this:
A small number of species were downgraded from a higher conservation status. Forty-nine were reduced to Near Threatened (NT), Data Deficient (DD) or Least Concern (LC) and were not included in the List. The reasons for this are:
There are likely to be only minor implications for regulation, investment programs and public land management. All the items that were assessed were either already FFG-listed or listed as rare or threatened on the published Advisory Lists.
The Guidelines for the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation are incorporated into all planning schemes in Victoria and refer to the Advisory Lists. These will continue to apply for the purposes of regulating native vegetation clearing in Victoria during a transition period. Queries should be directed to nativevegetation.support@delwp.vic.gov.au.
Page last updated: 16/08/24
