Queensland Threatened Species Program
Queensland’s Threatened Species Program provides the framework for helping conserve Queensland’s most vulnerable flora and fauna species.
It aims to deliver coordinated actions to identify, protect and recover threatened species across our terrestrial and aquatic environments and mitigate the threatening processes that impact them.
It is designed to meet the Queensland Government’s responsibilities and obligations to manage and conserve threatened species including those under Queensland and Commonwealth legislation and international agreements.
By adopting a strategic, integrated and coordinated approach to planning and implementing recovery activities across the sector, this program will help deliver increased outcomes for threatened species and their habitats.
The Threatened Species Program is underpinned by five key focus areas that will guide Queensland Government implementation and actions.
- Legislation, policy and governance
- Planning and management
- Science and knowledge
- Connect and communicate
- Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement framework.
In addition, there are a range of other Queensland Government programs and initiatives that help conserve threatened species:
- protected areas
- biodiversity conservation
- biodiversity offsets
- Land Restoration Fund
- nature refuges
- grants
- protected plants
- vegetation management
- Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger program.
While the Department of Environment and Science leads the Queensland Threatened Species Program, we also partner with First Nations organisations, leading researchers, conservation and community groups across the state to assist in the protection and recovery of threatened species.
Key threatened species initiatives
Increased threatened species funding
Nearly $40 million of additional funding was allocated to the Queensland Threatened Species Program and the South-East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy in 2022–23. This increased funding will ensure key threatened species priorities to further conserve and protect our threatened flora and fauna in partnership with a range of stakeholders.
Protected areas
More than 72% of Queensland threatened species listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 are found in national parks and other protected areas. Around 26% of these species are either highly, or entirely, reliant on these areas for their survival.
Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy 2020–2030 aims to grow the protected area system to help conserve critical habitat for threatened species. In 2022–23, the Queensland Government provided new investment of $262.5 million to acquire more land for protected areas.
The Queensland Government has also committed $8 million over four years to continue the successful Private Protected Area Program, the largest by land area of its kind in Australia, which involves 560 private protected areas covering 4.5 million hectares. Many of these sites deliver protection of threatened species and their habitats.
Land Restoration Fund
The Land Restoration Fund is a $500 million initiative that supports landholders, farmers and First Nations peoples to sequester carbon in Queensland landscapes and deliver additional environmental, social and economic outcomes. These co-benefits include large-scale habitat restoration and conservation, with a priority focus on improved outcomes for threatened species.
Research priorities and opportunities for Queensland threatened species and conservation estate
The department administers a range of key environmental protection legislation and uses leading-edge science to guide and prioritise its management responses to improve conservation outcomes.
The diversity and geographical spread of the state’s threatened species and the pervasive nature of threatening processes such as habitat loss, climate change and invasive pest species present significant challenges to conserving Queensland’s biodiversity.
The department meets these challenges by prioritising research, investment and actions and by partnering with researchers, First Nation’s people, industry, community and Commonwealth and local government agencies to enhance on-ground management.
By working in conjunction with Queensland’s science and research community, the department aims to further enhance our knowledge and use evidence-based decision making to deliver improved conservation outcomes for both the estate and threatened species.
The department has developed a research prospectus to identify the opportunities to address research priorities, and to facilitate collaborative projects and partnerships for improved management outcomes for threatened species and conservation estate.