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 is hosted by The University of Melbourne. 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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Submission to the Victorian Government on managing the biodiversity impacts of renewable energy
19 February 2025
Victoria’s proposed approach for managing the biodiversity impacts of renewable energy (including a draft Handbook and Discussion Paper) is not a significant improvement from the current approach and is unlikely to deliver "no net loss".
Submission to South Australia’s Draft Biodiversity Bill
18 February 2025
The creation of South Australia’s Draft Biodiversity Bill is a critical step in the state's conservation and restoration of biodiversity. We support many aspects of the bill and have also identified opportunities to improve parts of it.
Statement on Australia's renewable energy transition
17 February 2025
Renewable energy projects can harm the environment and heritage values, but their impacts can be reduced to acceptable levels through appropriate site selection and operation.
Safeguarding nature: Priorities for the next Australian Government
12 February 2025
Business as usual is causing the rapid decline of nature in Australia. Here, the Biodiversity Council outlines the priorities for the next Australian Government and the reforms that are needed to safeguard and restore nature.
2024-25 Biodiversity Concerns Survey Snapshot: Support for environmental law reform policies. Key Results Summary
31 January 2025
This report summarises findings from a community survey on levels of support among Australians for stronger environmental protection laws, including breakdowns of support by political alignment, age, gender and urban/rural area type.
Submission to the inquiry into the management of cat populations in New South Wales
22 November 2024
We advocate for the introduction of cat containment laws, and other programs that enable the protection of wildlife from roaming pet cats, in our submission to the NSW cat inquiry.
Submission to South-east Marine Parks Network Draft Management Plan
14 November 2024
We support the creation of 11 new sanctuaries across 10 marine parks, but are concerned that commercial fishing has been prioritised over biodiversity protection in some parks.
Preventing extinctions of Australian freshwater fishes: A national assessment
12 November 2024
This factsheet summarises key findings of the first comprehensive assessment of the extinction risk of Australian freshwater fish species and includes urgent recommendations to prevent extinctions.
Submission to Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve proposed proclamation and proposal to prepare a draft management plan
10 October 2024
The Biodiversity Council is concerned that the proclamation and management plan will not substantially improve levels of protection for marine biodiversity around Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
