The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) creates a nominations process which allows members of the public to nominate a species, ecological community, or potentially threatening process for listing of a species.

• nominating a species for listing, and
• providing comment on the Committee’s advertised preliminary recommendation.

Any person or organisation can nominate a species, ecological community, or potentially threatening process for listing. The nomination must:

• be in writing and addressed to the Secretary to the Committee,
• include details and signatures of all nominators, and details and scientific evidence of the nominated species, community or threatening process.

All nominations must contain the information set out in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Regulations (see Schedule 2 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 or the Department of Sustainability and Environment)

The DSE has further information on: Victorian Government DSE - how to nominate and what a nomination must contain and Victorian Government DSE - Guidelines for nominating an item for listing .

The Scientific Advisory Committee must consider each nomination as soon as possible and, if it does not reject a nomination as vexatious or incomplete, must make a preliminary recommendation about whether or not the nomination should be supported. The preliminary recommendation is then advertised for public comment in a newspaper circulating generally around the State, and also in a newspaper circulating in the area likely to be affected by the recommendation. Public comment must be made within 30 days of advertisement. After considering any public comments, the Committee must make a final recommendation to the Minister within three years of making the nomination.

After considering the Committee's recommendation and any comments from the Conservation Advisory Committee and the Victorian Catchment Management Council, the Minister must decide within 30 days of receiving the recommendation whether or not to recommend the listing of the nomination to the Cabinet. Any recommendation for listing is then advertised as above and also published in the Government Gazette. The listing is then added to the Threatened List or the Processes List. The Conservation Advisory Committee is established under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic). On 1 January 2009 this Committee had not yet been set up.

In making their recommendations, the Minister and the Scientific Advisory Committee must only consider nature conservation matters.

The Secretary may determine that the whole or any part of the habitat of a species or community is critical to its survival. The determination, known as a Critical Habitat Determination, must be advertised, and relevant people (including affected landholders and water managers) must be notified.

At the time of publication, only one Critical Habitat Determination had been made, but this was subsequently revoked. Despite this, if you believe that a habitat of a species or community is critical to its survival and may be threatened, you should request the Secretary in writing to investigate whether a Critical Habitat Determination ought to be made.

• Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) on Austlii

• Victorian Government - FFG Act Scientific Advisory Committee

• Victorian Government - Government Gazette