We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the sovereign Traditional Owners of Australia and thank them for their stewardship of this Country, its lands, waters and skies. We respectfully acknowledge their culture and customary practices, and pay respect to their Ancestors, Elders and future leaders.

For the first time, the State of the Environment report includes a strong Indigenous narrative across all 12 thematic chapters, a narrative crafted through recognising the leadership, collaboration and authorship of Indigenous Australians who continue their connection as Traditional Owners to their lands, waters and skies.

Click to view the State of the Environment report

On 28 March 2025 the government assumed a Caretaker role. Information on websites maintained by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will be published in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions until after the conclusion of the caretaker period.

Due to technical issues, graphs, maps and tables are currently not displaying within the main content, however, are available via the chapter resources navigation bar. We are working on a solution to resolve the issue.

References

S

Salimi F, Hanigan I, Jalaludin B, Guo Y, Rolfe M, Heyworth JS, Cowie CT, Knibbs LD, Cope M, Marks GB & Morgan GG (2020). Associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and Parkinson’s disease prevalence: a cross-sectional study. Neurochemistry International 133:104615.

Salimi F, Morgan G, Rolfe M, Samoli E, Cowie CT, Hanigan I, Knibbs L, Cope M, Johnston FH, Guo Y, Marks GB, Heyworth J & Jalaludin B (2018). Long-term exposure to low concentrations of air pollutants and hospitalisation for respiratory diseases: a prospective cohort study in Australia. Environment International 121(1):415–420.

SBS News (Special Broadcasting Service News) (2019). Sydney workers evacuated as smoke triggers alarms at offices, train stations, SBS, Sydney, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sydney-workers-evacuated-as-smoke-triggers-alarms-at-offices-train-stations/c5bc7d7a-9f80-4763-84cc-59af29c67ad9.

Schofield R, Utembe S, Gionfriddo C, Tate M, Krabbenhoft D, Adeloju S, Keywood M, Dargaville R & Sandiford M (2021). Atmospheric mercury in the Latrobe Valley, Australia: case study June 2013. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 9(1):00072.

Shah V & Jaeglé L (2017). Subtropical subsidence and surface deposition of oxidized mercury produced in the free troposphere. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 17(14):8999–9017.

Shao J, Zosky GR, Hall GL, Wheeler AJ, Dharmage S, Melody S, Dalton M, Foong RE, O’Sullivan T, Williamson GJ, Chappell K, Abramson MJ & Johnston FH (2020b). Early life exposure to coal mine fire smoke emissions and altered lung function in young children. Respirology 25(2):198–205.

Shao J, Zosky GR, Wheeler AJ, Dharmage S, Dalton M, Williamson GJ, O’Sullivan T, Chappell K, Knibbs LD & Johnston FH (2020a). Exposure to air pollution during the first 1000 days of life and subsequent health service and medication usage in children. Environmental Pollution 256:113340.

Shepherd CCJ, Clifford HD, Mitrou F, Melody SM, Bennett EJ, Johnston FH et al. (2019). The contribution of geogenic particulate matter to lung disease in Indigenous children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(15):2636.

Silver JD, Sutherland MF, Johnston FH, Lampugnani ER, McCarthy MA, Jacobs SJ, Pezza AB & Newbigin EJ (2018). Seasonal asthma in Melbourne, Australia, and some observations on the occurrence of thunderstorm asthma and its predictability. PLoS ONE 13(4):e0194929.

Slemr F, Angot H, Dommergue A, Magand O, Barret M, Weigelt A, Ebinghaus R, Brunke EG, Pfaffhuber KA, Edwards G, Howard D, Powell J, Keywood M & Wang F (2015). Comparison of mercury concentrations measured at several sites in the Southern Hemisphere. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 15(6):3125–3133.

Steinemann A & Goodman N (2019). Fragranced consumer products and effects on asthmatics: an international population-based study. Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health 12(6):643–649.

Steinemann A & Nematollahi N (2020). Migraine headaches and fragranced consumer products: an international population-based study. Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health 13(4):387–390.

Strzelec M, Proemse BC, Gault-Ringold M, Boyd PW, Perron MMG, Schofield R, Ryan RG, Ristovski ZD, Alroe J, Humphries RS, Keywood MD, Ward J & Bowie AR (2020). Atmospheric trace metal deposition near the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Atmosphere 11(4):390.

Suphioglu C, Singh MB, Taylor P, Knox RB, Bellomo R, Holmes P & Puy R (1992). Mechanism of grass-pollen-induced asthma. Lancet 339(8793):569–572.