Species management programs overview

Overview

In Queensland, the conservation of nature is achieved through the protection of wildlife, their habitats, and the ecologically sustainable use of protected species.

A species management program is required when an animal breeding place that is being used by a protected animal has been identified and planned activities will remove or tamper with that breeding place. These programs allow certain activities to proceed while ensuring wildlife and their breeding places are appropriately protected and managed.

When is a species management program required?

A species management program is required to tamper with an animal breeding place that is being used by a protected animal to incubate or rear the animal’s offspring.

An animal breeding place, of an animal, includes bowers, burrows, caves, hollows, nests or another thing that is commonly used by the animal to incubate or rear the animal’s offspring. Examples of animal breeding places include a bird nest in a tree or on the ground, a tree hollow used by possums, or less obvious habitats like amphibian breeding areas or manmade structures occupied by micro bats.

Not all animals occupy animal breeding places when breeding. To determine if an animal occupies an animal breeding place, it may be necessary to research the animal’s breeding behaviour. If in doubt, you can contact the department for advice (wildlife@detsi.qld.gov.au).

An animal breeding place is taken to be used by an animal if:

the animal is preparing, or has prepared, the place for incubating or rearing the animal’s offspring
the animal is breeding, or is about to breed, and is physically occupying the place
the animal and the animal’s offspring are physically occupying the place, even if the occupation is only periodical
the animal has used the place to incubate or rear the animal’s offspring and is of a species generally known to return to the same place to incubate or rear offspring in each breeding season for the animal.

To tamper with an animal breeding place, means to damage, destroy, mark, move or dig up, the breeding place.

A species management program is not required solely because an activity may affect habitat; it is only required where an animal breeding place has been identified, and the activity will tamper with that breeding place.

What is a species management program?

The main goals of a species management program are to:

assess the risks to animal breeding places from planned activities
include impact management actions to avoid or reduce harm to breeding places
set rules for monitoring and reporting to ensure these actions are effective.

An approved species management program may allow certain activities to proceed, even if they tamper with the breeding place of a protected animal.

It is important to note that species management programs do not authorise broader activities such as clearing or vegetation removal. These activities are regulated under other legislation, such as the Planning Act 2016, Vegetation Management Act 1999, Fisheries Act 1994 and other sections of the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

Types of species management programs

Species management programs are divided into two (2) categories based on the level of risk to the protected animal population:

Low risk species management program

authorises tampering with the breeding places of least concern animals that are not colonial breeders
allows tampering with breeding places if it will not harm the broader population
requires basic information, such as the location of the activity and the area of impact.

High risk species management program

authorises tampering with the breeding places of animals classified as critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, special least concern, or colonial breeders under the Nature Conservation Act 1992
requires more detailed information tailored to the specific species and their breeding places
includes additional breeding place survey, impact management, monitoring and reporting obligations.