Make your vote count this election; find out how our experts ranked this year's candidates

Australia is in a biodiversity crisis. Current rates of biodiversity loss jeopardise our health, food and water supply, the economy, climate resilience and our Australian way of life.

This federal election, it’s up to us to vote for the party or independent that will give nature a fair go, but with all the spin leading up to it, making the right choice can be challenging.

That’s why our panel of experts – covering environmental science, policy, Indigenous Knowledge, law, and economics – has reviewed the policy commitments from the major and minor parties, as well as key independent candidates, to compare how well they will tackle the biodiversity crisis.

Find out how the major parties stack up for nature

Find out how key independent candidates stack up for nature

Want to see more action for nature?

If you're not satisfied with these policy commitments, then let your local candidates know that you want the government to do much better for nature using our simple tool.

How our experts scored the major parties

Our panel of experts assessed candidate policy commitments across four main issues that align with our recommendations for the next Australian Government.

1. Strengthen Australia’s Environmental Laws

Take action to reform the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), including enshrining measurable environmental objectives and targets, developing national environmental standards, removing exemptions for select industries, independent compliance and enforcement, improving state of environment reporting and establishing a custodian for national environmental data.

2. Increase investment in the protection and restoration of nature

Increase the proportion of the Federal Budget spent on nature to a minimum of 1% to tackle major environmental threats, such as invasive species, and to restore and protect threatened species and ecological communities on land and in our oceans.

3. Empower Indigenous Australians to manage Country and benefit from Traditional Knowledge

Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to care for Country and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in government decision-making on the environment through an independent, authoritative Indigenous voice that provides advice about cultural and environmental matters that impact Indigenous People.

4. Ensure nature is central to decision-making across business and government

Ensure companies report on nature risks and impacts and the government addresses subsidies harmful to nature.