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Glossary

Term / Meaning /
Activities / The PGPA Act defines activities as the actions and/or efforts performed by a Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company to deliver government objectives and achieve desired results.
Biodiversity / The term biodiversity is a contraction of, and synonymous with, biological diversity. Biological diversity is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity to mean ‘the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’. A similar definition appears in the glossary to the Ramsar Convention on wetlands.
Bioregion / A geographic area characterised by a combination of physical and biological characteristics—for example, terrain, climate and ecological communities. The glossary of terms related to the Convention on Biological Diversity provides the following definition: ‘a territory defined by a combination of biological, social, and geographic criteria, rather than geopolitical considerations; generally, a system of related, interconnected ecosystems’. The term bioregion is a contraction of biogeographic region and is usually synonymous with that term. Bioregions are a useful way to analyse patterns of biodiversity. The definition of a particular bioregion depends on the scale at which its characteristic features are measured.
Biota / The plant and animal life of a region.
Bycatch / Accidental or incidental catch taken by fishers (non-target species).
Carbon credit / A tradeable unit corresponding to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Participants in the Emissions Reduction Fund are issued with Australian Carbon Credit Units.
Carbon market / A generic term for a trading system in which governments or private organisations may buy and sell carbon credits in an effort to meet limits on emissions.
Commonwealth Heritage List / Comprises places that are owned or controlled by the Australian Government and have natural, Indigenous and/or historic heritage values under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This includes places connected to defence, communications, customs and other government activities that also reflect Australia’s development as a nation.
Commonwealth protected area / A marine or terrestrial area protected under Commonwealth legislation,
including a World Heritage Area, National Heritage place, Marine Protected Area, Ramsar wetland, Indigenous Protected Area and other areas within the National Reserve System.
Corporate governance / The process by which agencies are directed, controlled and held to account. It is generally understood to encompass authority, accountability, stewardship, leadership, direction and control.
Ecological communities / Naturally occurring groups of species inhabiting a common environment; interacting with each other, especially through food relationships; and relatively independent of other groups. Ecological communities may vary in size and larger ones may contain smaller ones. In the EPBC Act they are defined as assemblages of native species that inhabit particular areas in nature.
Ecologically sustainable / The EPBC Act defines ecologically sustainable use of natural resources as ‘use of the natural resources within their capacity to sustain natural processes while maintaining the life-support systems of nature and ensuring that the benefit of the use to the present generation does not diminish the potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations’.
Ecosystem / A dynamic combination of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment (e.g. soil, water and the climatic regime) interacting as a functional unit. Examples of types of ecosystems include forests, wetlands, and grasslands.
Environmental impact assessment / An assessment of the possible impact of a proposed action undertaken to enable environment and heritage protection and biodiversity conservation.
Environmental water / Water provided for the environment to sustain and, where necessary, restore ecological processes and biodiversity of water-dependent ecosystems.
Expenses / Total value of all of the resources consumed in producing goods and services.
Finalised Priority Assessment List / The list of nominated species, ecological communities and key threatening processes that have been approved for assessment by the Minister for a particular assessment year (1October–30September). Each item included on the list is assessed by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee against a set of criteria. At the completion of the assessment the committee provides a listing advice to the Minister for decision, as well as a conservation advice that outlines immediate conservation priorities.
Greenhouse gases / Heat-trapping gases that are a natural part of the atmosphere. They maintain higher temperatures at the earth’s surface than would otherwise be possible. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. Water vapour is the most abundant greenhouse gas. Its concentration in the atmosphere is highly variable and human activities have little direct impact on it. Humans have most impact on carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Various artificial chemicals such as halocarbons contribute to climate change. The earth’s climate is warming. Scientists agree that some of this warming is due to human activities—particularly burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and land clearing—increasing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Hydrological connectivity / The ability of water to move from one location to another, thereby facilitating the transfer of matter, energy and organisms.
Indigenous Protected Area / An area of Indigenous-owned land or sea where traditional owners have entered into an agreement with the Australian Government to promote biodiversity and cultural resource conservation.
Matters of national environmental significance / The matters of national environmental significance protected under the EPBC Act are listed threatened species and communities; listed migratory species; wetlands of international importance; Commonwealth marine environment; World Heritage properties; National Heritage places; the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; nuclear actions; and water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining development.
National Heritage List / A written record of the places and their heritage values that the Minister is satisfied have one or more of the National Heritage values.
Operating costs / Expenses associated with the day-to-day operation of the Department.
Outcomes / The intended results, impacts or consequences of actions by the Government on the Australian community. They are listed in agencies’ portfolio budget statements and portfolio additional estimates statements.
Ozone-depleting substances / Substances that deplete the earth’s protective ozone layer. They are widely used in refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers, dry cleaning and electronic equipment, as solvents for cleaning, and as agricultural fumigants. Ozone-depleting substances include chlorofluorocarbons, halon, hydrochlorofluorocarbons and methyl bromide. Countries have agreed to phase out ozone-depleting substances through the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Some industries that use ozone-depleting substances are replacing those substances with synthetic greenhouse gases.
Persistent organic pollutants / Hazardous and environmentally persistent substances that can be transported between countries by the earth’s oceans and atmosphere. The substances bioaccumulate and have been traced in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals. Persistent organic pollutants include dieldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dioxins and furans. Countries have agreed to control the manufacture and trade of persistent organic pollutants through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
Portfolio additional estimates statements (PAES) / Updating or amending information in the portfolio budget statements on the resources available to, and the planned performance of, each agency within a portfolio.
Portfolio budget statements (PBS) / Detailed information on the resources available to, and the planned performance of, each agency within a portfolio. The PBS includes expenditure and revenue estimates for the current financial year, the budget year and the three forward years. It informs senators, members of Parliament and the public of the proposed allocation of resources to government outcomes. The PBS provides an important means by which the executive government remains accountable to the Parliament.
Procurement / The whole process of acquiring property and services. Procurement involves the processes of developing a business case, including risk assessment; identifying and evaluating alternative solutions; approaching the market; assessing tenders or quotes; awarding contracts; delivering and paying for the property and services and, where relevant, the ongoing management of a contract and consideration of options related to the contract. Procurement also extends to the ultimate disposal of property at the end of its useful life.
Product stewardship / Recognises that manufacturers, importers and others who benefit from making and selling a product share some responsibility for the environmental impacts of that product.
Programs / Agencies deliver programs that are the government actions taken to deliver the stated outcomes. Agencies are required to identify the programs that contribute to government outcomes over the budget and forward years.
Purposes / The PGPA Act defines purposes (when used in relation to a Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company) to include the objectives, functions or role of the entity or company. In relation to performance management, purposes are defined as the reasons or ideal state or outcomes for which the entity or company undertakes its activities.
‘Ramsar’ wetlands / Wetlands of international importance that are named after the international treaty under which such wetlands are listed.
Revenue / The total value of resources earned or received to cover the production of goods and services.
Shipping day / 24-hour period during which a ship is under charter to the Australian Antarctic Division.
Sustainable diversion limit / The maximum long-term annual average quantities of water that can be taken, on a sustainable basis, from Murray-Darling Basin water resources as a whole and from the water resources, or particular parts of the water resources, of each resource plan area in the Basin.
Synthetic greenhouse gases (SGGs) / Greenhouse gases that are either used in industrial applications or emitted as a by-product of industrial activity. They include hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Some industries that use ozone-depleting substances are replacing those substances with synthetic greenhouse gases.
Threat abatement plan / Threat abatement plans are developed when they are deemed by the Minister to be a feasible, efficient and effective way of abating a listed key threatening process, having regard to the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee and other nominated persons or bodies.
Threatened species / Listed threatened species (together with listed threatened ecological communities) form one of the nine matters of national environmental significance protected by the EPBC Act. Listed threatened species are categorised under the Act as ‘extinct’, ‘extinct in the wild’, ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’ or ‘conservation dependent’.
Uplistings / Changes to a higher threat category, of species already on the threatened list.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms / Meaning /
ABRS / Australian Biological Resources Study
ACCSP / Australian Climate Change Science Program
ACT / Australian Capital Territory
APS / Australian Public Service
ARC / Australian Refrigeration Council
ARENA / Australian Renewable Energy Agency
ATEP Act / Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980
CITES / Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CMS / Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
CO2-e / Carbon dioxide equivalent
CSIRO / Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
CTI / Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security
EPBC Act / Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
ERF / Emissions Reduction Fund
FOI Act / Freedom of Information Act 1982
FPAA / Fire Protection Association Australia
GL / Gigalitre
GST / Goods and services tax
GWh / Gigawatt hour
Ha / Hectare
HCFCs / Hydrochlorofluorocarbons
JAMBA / Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
ICT / Information and communications technology
IESC / Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development
INCAS / Indonesian National Carbon Accounting
IPBES / Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
ISO14001:2004 / International standard for environmental management systems
K-axis / Kerguelen Axis
MERIT / Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement Tool
ML / Megalitre
MNES / Matters of national environmental significance
MoU / Memorandum of Understanding
MW / Megawatt
NCCARF / National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility
NDVI / Normalised Difference Vegetation Index
NESP / National Environmental Science Program
NESTRA / National Environmental Significance Threat Risk Assessment tool
NRM / Natural resource management
NSW / New South Wales
NT: / Northern Territory
ODP / Ozone-depleting potential
OECD / Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
PFCs / Perfluorocarbons
PGPA Act / Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
PGPA Rule / Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014
PNG / Papua New Guinea
QLD / Queensland
REDD+ / Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
RET / Renewable Energy Target
ROKAMBA / Republic of Korea–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
SA / South Australia
SES / Senior Executive Service
SF6 / Sulfur hexafluoride
SGG / Synthetic greenhouse gas
SLEEK / System for Land-based Emissions Estimation in Kenya
SPRAT / Species Profile and Threats
TAS / Tasmania
tCO2-e / Carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes
UNESCO / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNFCCC / United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
VIC / Victoria
WA / Western Australia
WHS Act / Work Health and Safety Act 2011

List of tables

Table 1.1: Departmental financial performance, 2014–15 and 2015–16 18

Table 1.2: Departmental financial position, 2014–15 and 2015–16 19

Table 1.3: Administered financial performance, 2014–15 and 2015–16 20

Table 1.4: Administered assets and liabilities, 2014–15 and 2015–16 21

Table 2.1: Alignment between purposes and outcomes outlined in the Corporate Plan 2015–16 and Portfolio Budget Statements 2015–16 28

Table 2.2: Number of projects delivered against each strategic objective 31

Table 2.3: Green Army and National Landcare Program vegetation results 2015 33

Table 2.4: Regional delivery projects focused on Threatened Species Strategy priorities 34

Table 2.5: Actions to target threats to species and communities 35

Table 2.6: Projects with a threatened species focus 36

Table 2.7: Plantings through Biodiversity Fund projects 38

Table 2.8: Area treated for invasive animals and plants 39

Table 2.9: Australian Carbon Credit Units issued 39