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

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DES (Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science) (2021). Reef report cards, DES, Brisbane, https://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au/tracking-progress/reef-report-card.

DHHS (Victorian Department of Health & Human Services) (2012). January 2009 heatwave in Victoria: an assessment of health impacts, DHHS, Melbourne.

Diaz E (2008). Climate change, forest conservation and Indigenous peoples rights, discussion paper, Darwin.

Dietzel A, Bode M, Connolly S & Hughes T (2020). Long-term shifts in the colony size structure of coral populations along the Great Barrier Reef. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287:20201432.

DISER (Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources) (2019). National Greenhouse Accounts 2019, DISER, Canberra.

DISER (Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources) (2020a). Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from bushfires in Australia’s temperate forests: focus on 2019–20, technical update, DISER, Canberra.

DISER (Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources) (2020b). Quarterly update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: December 2020, DISER, Canberra.

DISER (Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources) (2021). Australian energy statistics, table O, electricity generation by fuel type 2019–20 and 2020, DISER, Canberra, https://www.energy.gov.au/publications/australian-energy-statistics-table-o-electricity-generation-fuel-type-2019-20-and-2020.

Dowdy A (2018). Climatological variability of fire weather in Australia. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 57(2):221–234.

DPIE (NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment) (2019). Guide to climate change risk assessment for NSW local government, DPIE, Sydney.