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.

Reference

Durack PJ, Wijffels SE & Matear RJ (2012). Ocean salinities reveal strong global water cycle intensification during 1950 to 2000. Science 336(6080):455–458.

Swart NC, Gille ST, Fyfe JC & Gillett NP (2018). Recent Southern Ocean warming and freshening driven by greenhouse gas emissions and ozone depletion. Nature Geoscience 11(11):836–841.

Bronselaer B, Russell JL, Winton M, Williams NL, Key RM, Dunne JP, Feely RA, Johnson KS & Sarmiento JL (2020). Importance of wind and meltwater for observed chemical and physical changes in the Southern Ocean. Nature Geoscience 13(1):35–42.