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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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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner (2009). Indigenous peoples and water. In: Native title report 2008, Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney.

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2020). 4610.0 – Water Account, Australia, 2016–17, ABS, Canberra, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4610.02016-17?OpenDocument.

Adams R & Simmons D (1999). Ecological effects of fire fighting foams and retardants: a summary. Australian Forestry 62(4):307–314.

Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board (2013). Water allocation plan: Western Mount Lofty Ranges, Government of South Australia, Adelaide.

Alexandra J & Finlayson CM (2020). Floods after bushfires: rapid responses for reducing impacts of sediment, ash, and nutrient slugs. Australasian Journal of Water Resources 24(1):9–11.

Almond Board of Australia (2021). Why almonds are good, Almond Board of Australia, Loxton, South Australia, https://australianalmonds.com.au/sustainable-almonds/?v=6cc98ba2045f.

ANIC (Australian Nut Industry Council) (2019). Growing for success: Australia’s tree nut industry 2019, ANIC, Wangaratta, Victoria.

Apte SC, Williams M, Angle BM, Kookana RS, King JJ & Craig A (2020). Assessing the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on water and soil quality in the vicinity of well sites in the Surat Basin, Queensland, project W12 final report, prepared for the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), CSIRO, Canberra.

AQUASTAT online database (2017). Dam capacity per capita, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, https://www.fao.org/aquastat/statistics/query/index.html.

Australian Academy of Science (2019). Investigation of the causes of mass fish kills in the Menindee region NSW over the summer of 2018–2019, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra.

Australian governments & Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Peak Organisations (2020). National agreement on Closing the Gap, Australian Government, Canberra.

Australian state and territory governments (2017a). National Groundwater Strategic Framework 2016–2026, Australian Government, Canberra.

Australian state and territory governments (2017b). Engaging Indigenous peoples in water planning and management, module to the National Water Initiative (NWI) Policy Guidelines for Water Planning and Management, Australian Government, Canberra.