Volcanic Shrublands Added to Threatened Ecological Communities List

Hon. Murray Watt MP

Minister for the Environment and Water

Senator for Queensland

Carol Berry MP

Member for Whitlam

Tuesday 7 April 2026

MEDIA RELEASE

Illawarra shrublands on volcanic outcrops have now been listed as Critically Endangered on Australia’s list of threatened ecological communities.

The listing will help raise awareness and inform future investments to support protection, threat management and ongoing recovery actions for the volcanic shrublands.

The listing decision was based on the advice of the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee and contributions from the NSW Government, many other experts and public comments.

The ecological community is found on exposed rocky ridgetops, benches and slopes, comprising some of the most important remaining native habitats from the Great Eastern Escarpment to the sea. It now occurs particularly around Albion Park and Dunmore, with a patch at the more elevated part of Killalea.

Conservation and recovery will benefit many plants and animals important to the Illawarra region, including the endangered southern brown bandicoot and gang-gang cockatoo, and the Illawarra Zieria, a locally endemic flowering shrub. Birds and small bats also help to control pest insects and play an important role in pollination within the ecological community and across the broader region.

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee noted that the volcanic shrublands have declined by approximately 90% with less than 400 hectares of the ecological community remaining.

Patches are now generally small and scattered throughout the landscape.

Listing the ecological community under national environment law also complements existing conservation efforts and strengthens connection with other threatened ecological communities in the region, including the critically endangered Illawarra and south coast lowland forest and woodland and Illawarra Shoalhaven subtropical rainforest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion.

Major new developments that would have a significant impact on protected matters in the listed area will need to be referred and assessed under national environment law.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt:

“Australia’s ecosystems are under pressure, including in our coastal regions, from land clearing, invasive weeds, feral animals and changed rainfall and fire regimes made worse by climate change.

“Protecting the volcanic shrublands and addressing fragmentation, habitat loss and degradation are critical steps that can slow and reverse the decline of biodiversity and help conserve habitat for associated fauna in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions.

“Listing the volcanic shrublands will help ensure important Australian natural environments like this have a future.”

Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Whitlam, Carol Berry MP:

“Protecting the unique landscapes of the Illawarra is essential to safeguarding our region’s biodiversity and natural heritage for future generations.”

“This listing recognises, at a federal level, the ecological significance of our volcanic shrublands and strengthens the protection currently imposed to prevent further loss.”

“Locals have always recognised the natural value of this part of the world. Reinforcing protections for our native ecosystems provides the best chance of recovery.”

“I welcome the work of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee and thank the local experts, community groups, and government agencies whose contributions have helped inform this decision.”

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