Biodiversity Act
The South Australian Government has passed its first-ever Biodiversity Act, marking a major milestone in protecting native plants, animals, and ecosystems — while also helping to address the impacts of climate change.
Key highlights:
- Stronger native vegetation laws
- Tougher penalties for harming wildlife and illegal clearance of native habitat
- Recognition of Aboriginal South Australians and the role that they play in caring for Country
- New protections for critical habitats and threatened ecological communities
- A general duty for all South Australians to protect biodiversity
- A nationally consistent process to recognise and list threatened species
- Establishment of four new groups to help administer the Act: the Biodiversity Council, the Clearance Assessment Committee, the Aboriginal Biodiversity Committee, and the Scientific Committee.
The Biodiversity Act consolidates biodiversity protections which were previously spread across several pieces of legislation, and was developed with input from scientists, Aboriginal groups, economists, primary producers, miners and development planners.
If you’d like to learn more about the important role biodiversity plays in sustaining our everyday lives, check out our video with Tim Jarvis AM.
This page will be regularly updated with news, developments and announcements relevant to the Biodiversity Act. To stay informed, subscribe here.
What's been done so far?
Community consultation on a draft Biodiversity Bill was undertaken between 21 January - 18 February 2025. Engagement with First Nations representatives also occurred during online sessions in February. A consultation report is available, as well as a First Nations engagement report.
Community and stakeholder feedback was carefully considered and helped to inform the finalisation of the Bill that was introduced to the South Australian Parliament on 14 May 2025.
Earlier community consultation occurred from December 2023 to March 2024, which identified priorities for the new Act. A consultation report is available, summarising what we heard as part of this process, in addition to a First Nations consultation report,summarising the feedback we heard from various workshop sessions.
Final improvements were made to the Biodiversity Bill through input from stakeholders and via its passage through both houses of Parliament.
What’s happening?
The Biodiversity Bill was passed in the State Parliament on 18 June 2025.
You can find out more about the parliamentary process of the Biodiversity Bill by visiting the South Australian Government legislation website.
What’s next?
The Biodiversity Bill has now been passed by Parliament, and is awaiting assent from the Governor.
Once it is assented, the Act won’t come into effect straight away. Different parts of the Act will be proclaimed gradually with full implementation expected to take around 2 years. The amendments to other legislation, including the repeal of the Native Vegetation Act 1991, will also come into effect gradually, aligned with the commencement of the corresponding parts of the Biodiversity Act.
The department is now working on developing the subordinate legislation – the regulations and required policies and guidelines – and will keep consulting with stakeholders throughout those developments.
South Australia’s biodiversity champion
We’re partnering with Tim Jarvis AM to help us inform the community about the development of the new Act and encourage people to get involved. Tim was named 2024 Australian of the Year for South Australia. He is an internationally recognised environmental scientist and adventurer, with more than 25 years of experience in both disciplines. Tim is passionate about environmental advocacy which is reflected in the wide range of initiatives he supports and works on, including supporting conservation charities, his recent 4 years of patronage of Nature Play SA and 5 years’ service on the board of Zoos SA who are leading work in endangered species conservation.
Keep up to date
From government to industries and individuals, all of us must to come together to address the challenges facing our biodiversity. To get involved and keep up-to-date:
- Sign-up to receive updates on the implementation the Biodiversity Act, including the development of regulations and establishment of committees
- Contact us at biodiversityact@sa.gov.au or (08) 8429 9605.
