Threatened Species Commissioner

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Dr Fiona Fraser is the Australian Government's Threatened Species Commissioner and brings a national focus to conservation efforts and is helping to address the growing number of native plants and animals in Australia facing extinction

15/06/2026

Working together to tackle invasive grasses in Northern Australia 🙌🏼

An updated national threat abatement plan is now available to guide management and research actions to address threats from 5 invasive grasses:
• gamba grass
• perennial mission grass
• annual mission grass
• para grass
• hymenachne.

These grasses came from Africa and South America. They are displacing native vegetation, choking waterways and fuelling intense wildfires.

They are a threat to at least 64 species listed as threatened under national environment law, including the water mouse and the yellow-snouted gecko. They also threaten Ramsar wetlands, World Heritage sites and National Heritage places, including Kakadu National Park and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

The plan will coordinate efforts to
• prevent further spread
• prevent landscapes from being dominated by these grasses
• protect areas of high biodiversity value and cultural significance from infestation.

The threat abatement plan is a big step forward for managing the devastating impacts of some of Australia’s worst invasive w**ds.

Read more https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/updated-invasive-grasses-threat-abatement-plan

📷 Images of Beatrice Lagoon in the NT by Colin G Wilson ©️ DCCEEW
Gamba grass control (Rowena Eastick)
Gamba Grass fire (Sam Setterfield)

14/06/2026

What on earth??? 🪱

Growing up to 150 cm long and making loud ‘gurgling’ sounds as they squelch through their underground burrows, giant Gippsland earthworms are seriously mysterious.

You can learn more about these impressively-sized animals at the updated interactive website developed by Bass Coast Landcare Network and partners as part of their Saving Native Species (SNS) project.

The website has information on the ecology and habitat requirements of this unique threatened species, as well as resources to help private land owners identify if they have the earthworms on their property and how to support their survival.

Through their SNS project, Bass Coast Landcare Network and partners also protected Gippsland earthworm habitat at 4 sites through actions such as cattle exclusion fencing, w**d control, and revegetation.

Check out the interactive website and learn more about this project here ➡️ https://drift.media/interactive/gge_hydrology/index.htm

More examples of positive progress for our species are in the Action Plan’s 2025 progress report: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/2025-progress-report.

Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group South Gippsland Landcare Network Water Technology Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network Drift Media

📷: Giant Gippsland earthworm (Image by Dr Beverley Van Praagh)
📷: Water meters to study the hydrology and soil moisture needs of the earthworm

11/06/2026

Working together with Parks Australia, scientists are using cutting-edge GPS technology to uncover how wedge-tailed shearwaters navigate the Pacific. The information collected will enhance our capacity to detect and respond to global threats like H5 avian influenza (bird flu). 🪶

It’s encouraging to see this work underway on Norfolk Island, which is an important site for migratory birds and a priority place in the Threatened Species Action Plan. 🏝️

While Australia remains free from H5 bird flu, the virus continues to spread globally. improving our understanding of seabird movements is critical in helping to prepare Australia’s most at-risk species for a potential outbreak.

10/06/2026

Feral pigs are no longer threatening Kangaroo Island’s native plants and animals 🐗

I am thrilled to be on the island today to celebrate the eradication of feral pigs. This is a nationally and internationally significant achievement as Kangaroo Island is the largest island anywhere in the world that has eradicated an established population of feral pigs.

Threatened species like Kangaroo Island dunnarts and echidnas now have a safer future.

Congratulations to the South Australian government teams who led the eradication in partnership with the agricultural industry, KI Landscape Board, local landholders and the island community.

$7.5 million in funding from the Australian and South Australian governments and the South Australian livestock industry supported the eradication after the 2019/20 bushfires which killed about 90% of the feral pig population.

The last pigs were removed in early 2024. Intensive monitoring since July 2024 has found no sign of feral pigs, providing the 2-year “proof of freedom” needed to confirm the eradication.

Alongside work to rid feral cats from the Dudley Peninsula, the island’s biodiversity condition is improving. This is a key objective in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Action Plan for the Kangaroo Island priority place.

SA Government Department of Primary Industries and Regions Environment SA News Kangaroo Island Landscape Board Ag KI Flinders University Livestock SA National Feral Pig Action Plan

📷 Partners and SA Govt team members at the feral pig eradication celebration event today.
Kangaroo Island echidna (patrickwhite57 CC BY-NC 4.0)
Kangaroo Island dunnart (Kangaroo Island Landscape Board CC BY 3.0)
Feral pigs detected with AI camera technology (PIRSA)

09/06/2026

Supporting threatened species and their habitat in the MacDonnell Ranges priority place.

A Saving Native Species (SNS) project led by Lands, Planning and Environment NT is tackling key threats in the MacDonnell Ranges. Thanks to the hard work of the team and partners Central Land Council (CLC) who are leading a complementary SNS project in the Ranges, the team has made good headway:

• supporting populations of the critically endangered central rock-rat through trials of the Felixer grooming trap as a complementary management tool to ongoing baiting by Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife and CLC – the Felixers have shown success, firing on 15 feral cats to date

• removing over 9,700 horses and camels, in consultation with Traditional Owners led by CLC

• working with CSIRO and Stride Resources to control buffel grass at targeted sites for threatened species like the Slater’s skink, MacDonnell Ranges cycad and red cabbage palm, the only naturally occurring palm species in the region.

• working with the Charles Darwin University Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research to develop fine scale fire history mapping, which is helping inform management decisions.

These efforts to abate threats at a landscape-scale are benefitting threatened species and their habitat and improving condition of the MacDonnell Ranges priority place. Well done to the team on their great efforts. 👏

📷: A feral cat preys on a central rock-rat, demonstrating the importance of ongoing action to manage this threat (image courtesy of NT Government)
📷: Felixer in the MacDonnell Ranges (image by Kylie Cowan)
📷: Aerial culling operation to remove horses and camels (image by Central Land Council)
📷: A Slater’s skink running out of its burrow (image courtesy of NT Government)
📷: Aerial view of the MacDonnell Ranges after rain (image by Kylie Cowan)

07/06/2026

Exciting swift parrot flock sighting at Lake Cathie, northern NSW! 🐦🤓

Each winter, this flashy green migratory bird flies from its breeding grounds in Tasmania to the mainland. They can appear in different parts of their range across the south-east mainland states depending where foraging resources are available.

Last year the critically endangered bird was rarely sighted further north than Victoria, so it is encouraging to see them pop up in NSW and even the Queensland region. Ensuring there is sufficient high quality foraging habitat across their range is important for the species.

Action is underway to improve the trajectory of the swift parrot, a priority species in the Threatened Species Action Plan. You can find more information about what the Australian Government is doing for this priority species here: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/action-plan/swift-parrot.

Read more about the sighting: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-01/critically-endangered-swift-parrots-sighted-in-northern-nsw-surp/106742056.

📷: Swift parrots in NSW (image by butterfly_eyes via iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0)

05/06/2026

One of the highlights of the Feral Cat Taskforce is hearing how First Nations organisations and Indigenous rangers in remote areas are working to protect native wildlife.

It was fantastic to have the Kimberley Land Council join the 21st meeting of the Taskforce recently for our regular Managing Cats on Country session. The team from KLC shared their experiences managing the impacts of feral cats on natural and cultural values in the Paruku Indigenous Protected Area in the Great Sandy Desert.

The greater bilby is a threatened species of cultural importance to First Nations people. KLC’s work monitoring greater bilby burrows has indicated that feral cats were predating these and other native animals. Data from monitoring is being used to inform management actions, and to detect changes in feral cat and native species activity.

As well as controlling feral cats, Paruku head ranger, Jamie Brown, and IPA coordinator, Geoff Brook, are working with schools and the wider community to encourage responsible pet cat ownership, and to reduce the number of kittens being brought into the community from elsewhere. This work is showing great results with fewer feral cats being seen and, importantly, native wildlife bouncing back.

Learn more about the Feral Cat Taskforce, including the communique from the 21st meeting here: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/feral-animals-australia/feral-cats/feral-cat-taskforce

📷: Images provided by Kimberley Land Council

04/06/2026

Meet Derek, Team Leader for the Southeast Arafura Rangers at Donydji and Dhupuwamirri in Northeast Arnhem Land. As Australia prepares for the risk of H5 bird flu, rangers like Derek help protect birds and Country.

“I am from Dhupuwamirri homeland in Northeast Arnhem Land. My totems are the wäk (crow) and the birrkpirrk (plover). My mother’s totem is the gurrumatji (magpie goose). I have a responsibility to care for these birds, because they are in my songlines.”

“Our people have a strong connection to all animals and birds – they are part of our culture, our songlines and our kinship system. If our birds are sick, we will get a really bad feeling.”

Derek and his team regularly monitor Country and collect samples to check that birds remain healthy.

“Keeping our Country healthy is very important. If some birds get sick, more birds could get sick. Everyone should keep an eye on Country to make sure it’s healthy, not just rangers.”

Australia remains free of H5 bird flu. Learn how you can help protect birds at birdflu.gov.au

03/06/2026

Artificial homes are helping Kangaroo Island dunnarts make a strong comeback!

More than 90% of the endangered dunnart’s habitat was burned in the 2019-20 bushfires, leaving the tiny marsupials vulnerable to predators.

To keep the population going while the landscape recovered, Kangaroo Island Landscape Board with support from the Australian Government created nests in the ground filled with leaf litter and covered with a sheet of corrugated iron – providing the dunnarts with a place to shelter, breed, and nest. The Board also undertook extensive monitoring surveys to track where dunnarts were persisting after the fires, while continuing feral cat control to reduce one of the biggest threats to their recovery.

It is fantastic to see these efforts paying off. The dunnarts have now been recorded in more locations across the island than they were before the fires, a promising sign for their recovery and long-term survival.

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-30/kangaroo-island-dunnarts-bushfire-recovery/106722478.

📷: images by Kangaroo Island Landscape Board

29/05/2026

From Kakadu to Norfolk Island, Parks Australia is preparing for H5 avian influenza ( ).

On-ground work is underway to prepare our most at-risk species, including magpie geese and the Abbott’s b***y.

Activities include:
• controlling invasive species like mice and buffel grass that put pressure on seabirds and habitat 🌾
• reducing impacts from feral pigs in Kakadu National Park 🪺
• mapping Abbott’s b***y nests on Christmas Island National Park to guide feral cat eradication and yellow crazy ant control 🐜
• remote surveillance using artificial intelligence in remote parks 📷
• preparedness and staff safety measures. 🦺

Healthy habitats and strong populations give native species the best chance of withstanding the impacts of disease outbreaks. 🌱

These efforts are supported by $4.5 million Australian Government investment.

It forms part of the Australian Government’s broader $113 million commitment to prepare for H5 bird flu.

More in comments. 🔽

Address

King Edward Terrace
Canberra, ACT
2600

Website

https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/commissioner, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/connect

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