South Australia's first ever Biodiversity Act has been introduced to State Parliament including new provisions to better protect our state's native animals and plants, build resilience to the effects of climate change, and to reduce red tape for development.
The new Act improves recognition for threatened species and provide opportunities for investment in restoring nature. It will consolidate biodiversity considerations, previously spread across several pieces of legislation.
The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2025 identified biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as the second highest long-term risk facing the globe - second only to extreme weather events.
It complements the more than $15 million invested by the Malinauskas Government over the past two Budgets for biodiversity data collection, protection of native vegetation and assessment of threatened species to help protect nature and guide planning decisions.
The legislation drafted over two years in consultation with environmental scientists, economists, primary producers, miners and development planners.
SA already has strong laws to protect the environment but there are many opportunities to attract international investment in restoring and strengthening biodiversity, and we can make smarter and faster decisions about how we grow the state while protecting nature.
It makes sense to plan ahead based on the best science, so developments are located in places that allow nature to flourish.
The Biodiversity Act includes:
- A new general duty ensuring that all South Australians play a role in protecting biodiversity
- Stronger native plant laws providing clearer regulations to safeguard native vegetation
- Tougher penalties to create stronger deterrence against environmental harm
- Critical habitat protections – by introducing a new process to identify and safeguard habitats vital for the survival of threatened species
- A new process for listing threatened species and threatened ecological communities, which aligns with other Australian jurisdictions and receives expert input from the scientific committee.
- A nationally consistent process to assess and recognise threatened native species and ecological communities.
Penalties for people that harm or traffic native animals or illegally clear native habitat will also be increased to a maximum $500,000 for businesses, a significant increase on existing fines that range from $2500 to $100,000.
The new Act would include a maximum $250,000 fine or five years' jail for individuals convicted of illegally killing, catching, restraining, injuring, keeping or interfering with a protected animal.
As put by Susan Close
We not only have to stop harming nature, but we also have to restore nature to create a stronger collective future for all South Australians.
The new Biodiversity Act will establish the framework to deliver environmental wins by safeguarding threatened animals and plants, restoring valuable habitat and ecosystems, while supporting billions of dollars in economic activity.
The Act aims to better balance environmental protection and restoration with economic growth.
As put by Tim Jarvis AM, Biodiversity Act Ambassador
Creating the state's first Biodiversity Act is a wonderful initiative and an example of South Australia again taking leadership on a critical environmental issue.
The state's focus on renewable energy shows that, by taking action, we're not contributing to issues like climate change, but we also need to restore nature to look after us and physically remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
It's about thinking differently and focusing on regeneration, rather than just sustainability. It's also about showing that South Australia is a great place to do business if you are concerned about the environment – and businesses and our trading partners will regard that as a positive step.
