Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan) Instrument 2025

1  Name

  This instrument is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan) Instrument 2025.

2  Commencement

  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under subsection 269A(2) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Front cover image showing DCCEEW logo and composite image of birds, flowers, and an aerial photo of Norfolk Island

© Commonwealth of Australia 2025

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Unless otherwise noted, copyright (and any other intellectual property rights) in this publication is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia.

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All material in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence except content supplied by third parties, logos and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms.

Inquiries about the licence and any use of this document should be emailed to copyright@dcceew.gov.au.

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Cataloguing data

Citation details: Commonwealth of Australia (2025) Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra.

This publication is available at SPRAT EPBC Act Recovery Plans.

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

GPO Box 3090 Canberra ACT 2601

Telephone 1800 803 772

Web dcceew.gov.au

Disclaimer

The Australian Government acting through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has exercised due care and skill in preparing and compiling the information and data in this publication. Notwithstanding, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, its employees and advisers disclaim all liability, including liability for negligence and for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person as a result of accessing, using or relying on any of the information or data in this publication to the maximum extent permitted by law.

This Recovery Plan has been developed with the involvement and cooperation of a range of stakeholders, but individual stakeholders have not necessarily committed to undertaking specific actions. The achievement of targets and the provision of funds may be subject to budgetary and other constraints and may also be constrained by the need to address other conservation priorities. Approved recovery actions may be subject to modification due to changes in knowledge and changes in conservation status.

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Australia and their continuing connection to land and sea, waters, environment and community. We pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live and work on, their culture, and their Elders past and present.

Contributions

Lead authors and editors: Nicholas Macgregor, Margarita Goumas, Jess Williams, Erik Doerr, Samuel Merson, Carla Miles, Alyssa Roggero, Lil Blake, Melinda Wilson, Allie Andersen, Grace Wall, Lydia Ayto.

Contributors: Keith Broome, Rhonda Butcher, Nicholas Carlile, James Castles, Joel Christian, Margaret Christian, Rohan Clarke, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Eloise Dowd, Daniel Gautschi, Simon Gorta, Nigel Greenup, Frances Greeshaw, Luke Halpin, Marc Hockings, Ben Hoffman, Isabel Hyman, Salit Kark, Lilli King, Peter Latch, Juliana Lazzari, Glynn Maynard, Kevin Mills, Penny Olsen, Luis Ortiz-Catedral, Tara Patel, Julie Quinn, Philip Reid, Libby Rumpff, Bec Rush, Mitch Ryan, Mark Scott, Flossy Sperring, Hannah Taylor, James Tweed, Gillian Walker, James Watson, Chuanji Yong, Heidi Zimmer.

We also acknowledge the members of Threatened Species Scientific Committee who provided insightful and valuable feedback during the preparation of this plan, and we thank them for their contributions.

This plan represents the combined efforts of many people, including those who have directly contributed to the content of the plan and those who have built the knowledge and understanding on which the plan relies.

Image credits

Cover: Kermadec petrel (credit: Stuart Cohen); White oak flowers (credit: Parks Australia); Phillip Island aerial image (credit: Norfolk Island Tourism); Norfolk Island green parrot (credit: Parks Australia).

Page iv: Norfolk Island landscape (credit: Norfolk Island Tourism).

A landscape with trees and water

Contents

Summary...................................................................1

Purpose................................................................1

Summary of targets........................................................1

Summary of recommended management and monitoring............................6

Summary of the costing framework............................................7

Part 1—Context..............................................................9

1.1 Introduction.......................................................9

1.2 The Norfolk Island Group.............................................17

Part 2—Pressures and risks....................................................66

2.1 Pressures.........................................................66

2.2 Risk assessment....................................................79

Part 3—Review of past planning and management...................................85

3.1 Review of implementation of the previous recovery plan......................85

3.2 Analysis of the adequacy of current management...........................96

Part 4—Management planning..................................................99

4.1 Conceptual framework for management planning...........................99

4.2 Ten-year species targets.............................................103

4.3 Ten-year management targets........................................107

4.4 Direct management programs.........................................109

4.5 Supporting management actions.......................................119

4.6 Adaptive management..............................................122

4.7 Research........................................................127

Part 5—Implementation......................................................130

5.1 Governance and responsibilities.......................................130

5.2 Interaction with other plans, policies, and strategies........................142

5.3 Costs of implementation.............................................144

5.4 Implementation timeframe...........................................151

Part 6—Species profiles......................................................152

6.1 Invertebrates.....................................................155

6.2 Reptiles.........................................................172

6.3 Land birds.......................................................180

6.4 Seabirds........................................................202

6.5 Flora...........................................................239

Part 7—Appendices.........................................................389

Appendix A: Conceptual models.............................................390

Glossary..............................................................395

References............................................................397

Tables

Table 1 Ten-year targets for animal species..........................................2

Table 2 Ten-year targets for plant species...........................................3

Table 3 Ten-year management targets.............................................5

Table 4 Listed threatened species covered by the recovery plan..........................11

Table 5 Soils of Norfolk Island...................................................20

Table 6 EPBC listed threatened molluscs of the Norfolk Island Group.......................24

Table 7 EPBC listed threatened reptiles of the Norfolk Island Group.......................27

Table 8 Endemic and/or EPBC listed avian fauna of the Norfolk Island Group.................29

Table 9 Distribution of EPBC listed threatened fauna (excluding species presumed to be extinct) on the Norfolk Island Group across tenure types......42

Table 10 Threatened and/or endemic plants of the Norfolk Island Group....................43

Table 11 Distribution of EPBC listed plant species of the Norfolk Island Group across tenure types.47

Table 12 Description of the native plant communities found on Norfolk Island and a summary of the threatened plant species that may occur within them......52

Table 13 Plant communities of Phillip Island.........................................54

Table 14 Area of native plant communities (remnant and non-remnant) on Norfolk Island predicted for 1750 and estimated for 2020, and percentage remaining in 2020......58

Table 15 Distribution of remnant plant communities present in 2020 on Norfolk Island across tenure types......59

Table 16 Sites of significant native vegetation in the Norfolk Island Group, including in the national park, public reserves and other locations......61

Table 17 Key threatening processes listed under the EPBC Act relevant to Norfolk Island Group...76

Table 18 Potential weed species of concern in the Norfolk Island Group....................77

Table 19 Risk matrix used to assess risks to species...................................80

Table 20 Summary of severity of risk posed by each pressure to each species................81

Table 21 Species population estimates and trends from 2010 to 2023......................90

Table 22 Summary of actions completed...........................................94

Table 23 Management programs assessed..........................................96

Table 24 IUCN status definitions.................................................97

Table 25 IUCN rules for assigning status............................................97

Table 26 Listed threatened fauna species and their 2034 targets.........................103

Table 27 Listed threatened plant species and their 2034 targets.........................105

Table 28 Management targets and the pressures they address..........................107

Table 29 Management programs and associated targets and actions to achieve 2034 targets for threatened species......110

Table 30 The importance of each management program for each species..................115

Table 31 Summary of roles in delivering the plan—direct management....................140

Table 32 Summary of roles in delivering the plan—supporting management, research and monitoring141

Table 33 Core and contingent management programs, and their locations of implementation, for which costs have been estimated......146

Table 34 Estimated cost of management programs over five years for Norfolk Island National Park, public reserves and other land......148

Table 35 Five-year present value cost of management programs by activity category and area...150

Figures

Figure 1 Sequence of management programs and targets over the life of the plan..............2

Figure 2 Photos of the native plant communities on Norfolk Island........................51

Figure 3 Predicted response after 10 years under 2021 management levels..................98

Figure 4 Simplified conceptual model of the pressures, drivers, and management that influence the state of threatened species on the Norfolk Island Group......99

Figure 5 The hierarchy of outcomes relevant to this ten-year plan........................102

Figure 6 Illustration of the major steps of the adaptive management cycle and its links to the Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan......122

Figure 7 An example of a chain of linked indicators, representing the monitoring of a sequence of results towards a final target for a threatened species......123

Figure 8 Schematic overview of a possible integrated monitoring program to comprehensively track results across major management programs......124

Figure 9 A conceptual overview of evaluation across sets of linked resource, management, pressure and value indicators, and some of the management decisions that might be considered under different scenarios......125

Figure 10 Conceptual model of factors and interactions influencing forest birds on Norfolk Island..390

Figure 11 Conceptual model of factors and interactions influencing native plant communities and threatened plant species on Norfolk Island......391

Figure 12 Conceptual model of factors and interactions influencing threatened snails on Norfolk Island......392

Figure 13 Conceptual model of factors and interactions influencing native plant communities and threatened plant species on Phillip Island......393

Figure 14 Conceptual model of factors and interactions influencing threatened animals on Phillip Island......394

Maps

Map 1 Terrestrial areas of the Norfolk Island Group covered in the plan, including location of protected areas......10

Map 2 Soil map of Norfolk Island.................................................19

Map 3 A Map showing the known locations of threatened molluscs on the Norfolk Island Group..35

Map 4 A map showing the distribution of threatened reptiles on the Norfolk Island Group.......36

Map 5 Primary distribution of the Norfolk Island green parrot...........................37

Map 6 Range movements of the Norfolk Island morepork on Norfolk Island.................38

Map 7 Distribution of the Norfolk Island golden whistler...............................39

Map 8 Distribution of the Norfolk Island robin.......................................40

Map 9 Distribution of the Kermadec petrel in the Norfolk Island Group.....................41

Map 10 Number of threatened plant species in each park and reserve in the Norfolk Island Group.46

Map 11 Norfolk Island native plant communities present in 1750.........................56

Map 12 Norfolk Island native plant communities present in 2020.........................57

Summary

Purpose

The purpose of the Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan (‘the plan’) is to provide the management and supporting actions necessary to stop the decline and support the recovery of terrestrial threatened species in the Norfolk Island Group. By taking a regional approach, this plan seeks to identify and support integrated solutions for the threatened species in the Norfolk Island Group and contribute to conservation of overall biodiversity on the islands. The plan covers all land tenures across the Norfolk Island Group including Norfolk Island, Phillip Island, Nepean Island and surrounding rock stacks (Map 1) but does not address the Norfolk Marine Park, which is managed under the Temperate East Marine Parks Network Management Plan 2018 (Director of National Parks 2018). The plan replaces the previous Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan (Director of National Parks 2010).

The plan serves as a formal recovery plan for a specific subset of the threatened species in the Norfolk Island Group, comprising 46 plant species, five bird species and two reptile species (Table 1). It also includes actions for five endemic snails that are listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), but which do not require a recovery plan.

Successful implementation of the plan requires coordination by a recovery team made up of agencies with responsibility for land management and other stakeholders, with strong participation by the Norfolk Island community.

Summary of targets

The plan contains a detailed conceptual framework for management planning based on a hierarchy of outcomes. A long-term vision and goals provide a direction of travel, recognising that the plan is one part of an ongoing process to restore the Norfolk Island Group’s biodiversity and ecosystems. Within that context, the plan focuses on a sequence of specific aims for the next ten years, based on delivery of management actions (grouped into management programs), leading to achievement of management targets, in turn leading to achievement of recovery targets for the species (Figure 1). Targets have been set to be sufficiently ambitious to support achieving the vision for 2050 while being achievable within a decade if sufficient resources are available.

Details of each of those three levels of targets are summarised below (with full details in Part 4—Management planning). They are presented in the reverse of the order in Figure 1, on the basis that planning starts with defining desired outcomes and works back to identify relevant intermediate targets and required actions.

Figure 1 Sequence of management programs and targets over the life of the plan

A flow chart showing the general sequence of: delivery of management actions (grouped into management programs), leading to achievement of 2034 management targets, which in turn leads to achievement of individual 2034 species targets.

Ten-year species targets

Summary tables of animal and plant species targets are below. For full details, see Table 26 and Table 27.

Table 1 Ten-year targets for animal species

Table 2 Ten-year targets for plant species

a Target figures refer to number of individuals, unless otherwise stated.

Ten-year management targets

A summary table of management targets is below. For full details, see Table 28.

Table 3 Ten-year management targets

a See risk assessment at Section 2.2

Summary of recommended management and monitoring

A coordinated suite of management programs will be required to achieve the objectives of the plan, including:

• biosecurity
• integrated invasive animal control:
• control of rodents
• control of feral chickens
• control of free-roaming cats
• control of crimson rosellas
• control of swamphens
• eradication of Argentine ants
• control of Phytophthora cinnamomi
• restoration of native vegetation
• fire management
• provision of nest sites for native threatened birds
• population management.

See Table 3 for a summary and Table 29 for full details of these management programs.

Direct management must be supported by a range of supporting actions, including coordination, policy and legislation, and community engagement and communication.

It is essential that management is informed by a comprehensive and integrated program of monitoring and evaluation. Section 4.6 (Adaptive management) provides a framework for developing a monitoring plan with the ability to track results across chains of linked indicators, representing a sequence of results towards a final goal, specifically regarding: (1) investment of resources, (2) delivered management actions, (3) state of pressures (relating to management targets) and (4) populations of threatened species (relating to species targets). Regular evaluation across these chains of indicators will enable progress to be tracked and appropriate adaptive adjustments to be made to management, ecological monitoring, and research elements of the recovery plan.

Summary of the costing framework

The plan applies a systematic costing framework to estimate the budget that would be required to achieve the targets of the plan and help secure the long-term future of the unique biodiversity of the Norfolk Island Group. Costs were estimated for all core and contingency management programs. For each program, the underlying activities required to achieve the management target over a five-year period were identified, using a standardised framework of categories of activity and different cost components. Structured models were used to estimate the costs of each management program, including simulating a range of cost estimates to account for uncertain variables such as travel and labour costs. Contingency costs for eradicating invasive species from Phillip Island if those species arrived on the island from Norfolk Island were estimated by considering the per eradication event cost and the probability of occurrence over the five years.

Costs were estimated separately for three management areas: Norfolk Island National Park, public reserves, and other land. Table 33 summarises the management programs and locations to which they apply.

Estimates of total costs over five years (best estimates with ranges to incorporate uncertainty in cost predictions) are:

• Norfolk Island National Park: $54,217,963 (range: $39,235,600 to $82,376,763)
• public reserves: $16,551,581 (range: $11,922,670 to $25,470,962)
• other land: $13,884,341 (range: $9,534,594 to $21,314,373).

Approximately 64% of costs would be associated with management in the national park, 20% with management in public reserves and 16% with management on other land (Table 34). This reflects the size of the park relative to public reserves, and the wider ranging and/or more ambitious management targets that have been set for the park in comparison with other types of land.

Of the different programs, restoration of native vegetation was estimated to be the most resource intensive, representing over 50% of the total budget. Rodent control was the next most expensive ongoing program, at 15% of the total.

The bulk of costs identified are for on-ground management (78.5% of the total), but resources will also be required for other actions, including planning and coordination, monitoring, research, education and training.

The cost figures are estimates of what it would cost to fully implement the plan. They do not indicate the budget that will be available; nor do they represent a commitment by any organisation to provide any element of the budget. Relevant organisations should use this plan to prioritise actions to protect species and enhance their recovery.

Structure of the plan

This plan is presented in seven parts.

Part 1 presents the purpose and scope, the legislative context, and a description of the Norfolk Island Group, including an introduction to the threatened species addressed in this plan.

Part 2 outlines the past, current and likely future pressures on threatened species and biodiversity in the Norfolk Island Group and presents an assessment of risks associated with those pressures.

Part 3 presents the results of a review of the previous recovery plan and an analysis of the adequacy of management that was being undertaken in 2021 when development of the new plan began.

Part 4 covers the logic and conceptual underpinning of the plan, management planning, including the species and management targets for the next ten years, and the management programs and actions to be implemented to achieve those targets.

Part 5 covers implementation, including governance, and a summary of the methods and results of an analysis to estimate the costs of delivering the plan.

Part 6 contains detailed species profiles for each of the threatened species, including a summary of the actions outlined in this plan to guide their management. Profiles are also included for some of the region’s most significant seabirds, some of which are listed as marine and/or migratory under the EPBC Act.