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Biodiversity Council warns: handing environmental approval powers to states is premature and high-risk

The Biodiversity Council has called on the federal government to scrap plans to hand national environmental approval powers to states and territories until strong National Environmental Standards (NES) have been developed.
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The Biodiversity Council is a registered Australian not-for-profit charity, recognised by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), meeting national standards for integrity, transparency and accountability.

Acknowledgements

The Biodiversity Council acknowledges the First Peoples of the lands and waters of Australia, and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and future and expresses gratitude for long and ongoing custodianship of Country.

The Biodiversity Council is an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities to promote evidence-based solutions to Australia’s biodiversity crisis. It receives funding from 11 university partners and The Ian Potter Foundation, The Ross Trust, Trawalla Foundation, The Rendere Trust, Isaacson Davis Foundation, Coniston Charitable Trust and Angela Whitbread.


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Victoria 3010 Australia


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Media Release

Biodiversity Council warns: handing environmental approval powers to states is premature and high-risk

30 April 2026
The Biodiversity Council has called on the federal government to scrap plans to hand national environmental approval powers to states and territories until strong National Environmental Standards (NES) have been developed.
Read More
News story

Webinar: Fixing federal nature spending - changing government investment from harming to helping

24 April 2026
Experts examine current federal spending on nature and unpack how to redirect public funding to better support nature, including strengthening Indigenous-led management of Desert Country.
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Media Release

Feral cats bounties are being trialled in parts of Queensland - do they work?

16 April 2026
Feral cat numbers have drastically increased in QLD, causing local councils to trial feral cat bounties. However, bounty programs consistently fail to deliver benefits for wildlife, and fail to genuinely reduce the impact of cats on wildlife.
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Media Release

Robodebt for the environment - Rushing AI into EPBC Act assessments could repeat past policy failures

7 April 2026
The Minerals Council of Australia has called on the Australian Government to invest $13 million to embed AI tools into federal environmental approval processes, which may drive endangered species closer to extinction.
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News story

Fixing Australia’s nature protection laws: Why National Environmental Standards must have clear rules

27 March 2026
The Australian Government's draft National Environmental Standards fall well short of what is needed to deliver real protection for nature. The Standards are expected to be open for public comment in April.
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News story

Study finds protected areas have doubled —So why are many threatened species still unprotected?

24 March 2026
New research has found that Australia has nearly doubled the amount of land protected in just 12 years, but gains have not been in the areas most important for protecting threatened species and ecosystems.
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Media Release

‘Optimistic spin’ hides worsening nature crisis in government report to UN, experts say

16 March 2026
The Biodiversity Council says the Australian Government is using spin to hide the nature loss crisis and avoid doing enough work to address it, after assessing their first report to the UN under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
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News story

The women who inspired these conservation science leaders

8 March 2026
To mark International Women’s Day, we asked women who have become leaders in conservation science to reflect on the women who inspired them.
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News story

New analysis reveals NSW land clearing laws are failing native species

6 March 2026
New research reveals ongoing land clearing in NSW's high biodiversity value areas, including threatened species habitat, prompting urgent reform of the state's legislation.
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News story

Back from extinction, now on the brink. The fight to save Victoria’s most imperilled reptile

27 February 2026
Meet the Victorian grassland earless dragon, Victoria's most imperilled reptile. Only a single wild population remains in a rapidly developing region in western Melbourne, leading to calls for the government to buy the site.
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