The Victorian landscape is environmentally diverse spanning the rugged Snowy Mountains and the riverine wetlands of the Mallee to the grasslands of the Goldfields and dense Mountain Ash forests. The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) identifies over 500 species of flora and fauna, including ecological communities, as threatened. In contrast, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment lists over 250 animal and 1,800 plant species facing vulnerability.

This page provides an introduction to the Victorian legislative scheme which protects the state's biodiversity.

The Otway Ranges in Victoria.

The aim of the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) is to establish procedures to promote the protection and conservation of wildlife, the prevention of taxa of wildlife from becoming extinct, the sustainable use of and access to wildlife and to prohibit the conduct of persons engaged in activities concerning or related to wildlife. The Act provides a definition of what kinds of wildlife are 'protected', allows for the provision of wildlife and game licences and the protection of whales and creates offences for the handling of endangered or protected wildlife. The Act is administered by the Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment subject to the direction of the Minister responsible for that Department.

Click here for more information on the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) (and see below).

The purpose of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) is to establish a regulatory structure and corresponding procedures for the conservation and management of Victoria's native fauna and flora species and prevent the propagation of potentially threatening processes. The Act is administered by the Parks, Flora and Fauna Division within the Department of Sustainability and Environment. According to the Act, a list of threatened taxa or communities of flora and fauna must be prepared along with Action Statements and Critical Habitat Determinations, Management Plans and Public Authority Management Agreements for the listed taxa, processes or communities. The Secretary must also prepare a Flora and Fauna Guarantee Strategy setting out how the objectives of the Act are to be achieved.

Click here for more information on the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) (and see below).

The purpose of the Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic) is to conserve Victorian fisheries and aquatic habitats and reform the law relating to fisheries. The Act specifies that Management Plans for the conservation of fisheries must be established by the Minister which specifies the way in which fishing capacity is to be measured. Offences are established for the taking of fish or fishing bait for sale without a licence and the Act establishes quotas for the taking of abalone in order to conserve protected aquatic biota. Declarations can be made for noxious aquatic species.

Click here for more information on the Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic) (and see below).

The Forests Act 1958 (Vic) protects and manages Victoria's State Forests and provides licensing requirements for the harvesting of those forests. Administered by the Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment and subject to the supervision of the Minister for that Department (Minister for Environment), the Act states that working plans shall be established for state forests and allows the Minister to proclaim unoccupied Crown land to be a protected forest. The Act manages 'burning off' procedures, the use of fire, saw mills and the cutting of trees.

Click here for more information on the Forests Act 1958 (Vic).

The purpose of the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic) is to create a framework for a land management system and to create a body corporate called the Director-General of Conservation, Forests and Lands which is administered by a Secretary. The Secretary has the power to approve certain kinds of conservation work that may take place by issuing a certificate. Significantly, section 69 gives the Secretary power to enter into agreements with any land owner relating to the management, development, use, preservation or conservation of the land.

Click here for more information on the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic).

The Environmental Effects Act 1978 (Vic) creates a system for assessing the environmental effects of a proposed development. The Act stipulates that Environmental Effect Statements (EES) must be drafted for certain private works and public works and submitted to the Minister for assessment. The Minister is able to call for Supplementary Statements to support an EES at any time in order to assist their assessment. The Minister may also request a statement if specific work conditions are not met. The Act gives the Minister the power to conduct inquiries, with the approval of the Governor in Council, into the environmental effects of any works covered by this Act.

Click here for more information on the Environmental Effects Act 1978 (Vic).

The Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) allows for the conservation and protection of all wildlife (excluding flora) in Victoria except pest animals declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), fish species as defined under the Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic) and wildlife declared 'unprotected' and published in the Government Gazette.

However, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) provides for the listing of certain taxa (genera, species, subspecies, varieties), communities and potentially threatening species. As a result, not all species covered by the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) will be protected by the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic). The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) provides for the establishment of three lists to protect Victoria's biodiversity:

• The Excluded List contains native flora and fauna taxa which are not to be conserved because they constitute a serious threat to human welfare. Example: Human disease organisms.
• The Threatened List contains taxa and communities of native flora and fauna currently threatened. There have been no updates to this list since November 2008. Example: Rufous Bettong, Pig-footed Bandicoot, Mountain Pigmy Possum, Blue Whale, Leadbeater's Possum, Major Mitchell Cockatoo and Powerful Owl.
• The Processes List contains potentially threatening processes. Example: Collection of native orchids, incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during longline fishing operations, the input of toxic substances into Victoria's rivers and streams, predation of native wildlife by the introduced Red Fox and inappropriate fire regimes that disrupt sustainable ecosystem processes causing a loss of biodiversity.

The Secretary is responsible for administering the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) in a way that promotes flora and fauna conservation and management objectives. Once species are listed according to the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic), they are protected by a Flora and Fauna Guarantee Strategy, action statements which establish the conservation strategies that will be employed, flora and fauna management plans and public authority management plans.

The Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) defines certain wildlife as 'protected'. These include:

• All indigenous vertebrate animals excluding fish.
• Any terrestrial invertebrate listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic).
• Non-indigenous quail, pheasants, deer, partridges and any other non-indigenous animals declared to be wildlife.
• Any animal declared to be wildlife according to section 3.

Protected wildlife is no longer classified as 'endangered wildlife' or 'notable wildlife'.

The Listing Process begins with a submission nominating specific flora and fauna to be added to the Threatened List. Nominations may be made by any member of the general public. The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) determines whether the nomination is valid by assessing it against FFG-listing criteria established by section 11 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic).

FFG-listing criteria include the basic rules for determining the eligibility of a species nomination. The criteria include:

• Whether the taxon or community of flora or fauna can show a demonstrable state of decline which is likely to result in extinction.
• If a taxa or community of flora or fauna is narrowly defined because of its taxonomic composition or the environmental conditions in which it lives, it needs to be assessed whether or not there is a special need to conserve it.

Detailed listing criteria have also been developed by the Scientific Advisory Committee to assess nominations. These are listed in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Regulations 2001. The SAC must consider each nomination on a case-by-case basis.

Part VII of the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) establishes a number of offences regarding wildlife in the state of Victoria. It is an offence to:

• Hunt, take or destroy threatened or protected wildlife.
• Acquire, sell, breed, keep, possess, control, display, take samples from or experiment on threatened wildlife.
• Dogs and cats are prohibited from attacking wildlife. Owners face prosecution should their pets attack wildlife.
• Mark protected wildlife with a ring, band, dye or by any other means.
• Release birds and animals from captivity without the written consent of the Secretary.
• Kill, destroy, injure or take wildlife by the use of any bait impregnated with poison.
• Use glue, adhesive material, bird-lime or any similar viscid substance for or in connection with the taking or restraining of wildlife without the written authority of the Secretary.
• Use a punt gun in the taking and hunting of wildlife.
• Molest, injure, disturb, chase or herd protected wildlife or take protected wildlife from their young.
• Kill, injure, take or interfere with a whale.
• Take or destroy wildlife in or upon a sanctuary.

Under section 22 of the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic), the Secretary may license a person to take or destroy wildlife or buy, sell, acquire, receive, dispose of, keep, possess, control, breed, process or display wildlife. Licences to hunt, take or destroy game can also be issued.

Applications for permits and licences under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) must be made to the Secretary in writing. If a landholder or water manager wishes to undertake certain activities on land which is subject to an Interim Conservation Order, they must apply to the Secretary who will consider the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Strategy, possible social or economic effects that may result from the granting of a licence, possible effect on listed taxa or communities of flora and fauna or the critical habitat and the flora and fauna conservation objectives. Under section 53 of the Act a licence may be granted to take, trade in or keep fish which are members of a listed taxon or community of fauna.

The Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic) allows for the provision of various classes of 'access' licences that may enable the holder to take specified fish or fishing bait for sale and 'receivers' licences which allow a person to receive for sale or for any other purpose a specified priority species of fish. All applications for licences under the Act must be made in writing to the Secretary. In the consideration of whether to grant a fishery licence, section 51 states that the Secretary must have regard to any relevant recommendations of the Commercial Fisheries Licensing Panel. Permits may also be issued to take, injure, damage, destroy, possess, keep, display for reward, release into Victorian waters or sell protected aquatic biota.

Under the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic) it is a defence to the taking or hunting of wildlife if you are in possession of a valid licence or permit.

According to the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic), a 'threatening process' can be defined as an activity which threatens the biodiversity or environmental state of a particular ecosystem. The Act states that potentially threatening processes can be nominated and listed in the Processes List as determined by the Scientific Advisory Committee.

If a threatening process rapidly presents itself and the critical habitat of a listed taxon or community of flora and fauna is in danger, the Minister may make in writing an Interim Conservation Order (ICO). An ICO can provide for the following:

• The conservation protection or management of flora, fauna, land or water within the critical habitat which is the subject of the order;

• The prohibition or regulation of any activity or process which takes place on the land or in relation to the water or the use, management or development of the land or water within the critical habitat which is the subject of the order;

• The prohibition, regulation or management of any activity or process which takes place outside the critical habitat which is the subject of the order but which is likely to adversely affect the critical habitat;

• A requirement to undertake works or activities specified in the order or by the Secretary.

Before an ICO expires, section 44 of the Act states that the Minister together with the Secretary must take all reasonable steps to ensure the long-term conservation of the taxon, community or critical habitat in respect of which the ICO was made.

The Victorian legislative scheme offers opportunities for public involvement in the listing process. Section 12 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) states that any person may nominate any eligible taxon, community of flora and fauna or potentially threatening process to be added or repealed from the Threatened List or Processes List. Nominations must be made to the Committee, include any prescribed information and must be in writing addressed to the Secretary to the Committee.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) allows for any member of the public to make a submission on an Interim Conservation Order (ICO). The purpose of the order is to protect a species and its critical habitat where it is imminently threatened. Submissions from the general public can assist with enforcement and compliance of an ICO.

• Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic)
• Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic)
• National Parks Act 1975 (Vic)
• Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic)
• Forests Act 1958 (Vic)
• Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic)
• Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic)
• Environmental Effects Act 1978 (Vic)

The following links within the Envirolaw website provide more explanation on the above legislation:

• Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic)
• Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic)
• National Parks Act 1975 (Vic)
• Fisheries Act 1995 (Vic)
• Forests Act 1958 (Vic)
• Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic)
• Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic)
• Environmental Effects Act 1978 (Vic)

• Flora And Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
• Protection of wildlife under the Wildlife Act 1975
• Commonwealth threatened species law
• International biodiversity law