Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan) Instrument 2025
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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.
Section 3 - Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan) Instrument 2025 - Authority | Zoe
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).
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 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
Species
Common name
Target
Advena campbellii
Campbell’s keeled glass-snail
Maintain at least three viable populations on Norfolk Island
Mathewsoconcha grayi (Advena grayi)
Gray’s glass-snail
At least one large stable population on Phillip Island
Mathewsoconcha phillipii (Advena phillipii)
Phillip Island glass-snail
n/a, presumed extinct
Mathewsoconcha suteri (Advena suteri)
Suter’s striped glass-snail
Maintain at least two viable populations on Norfolk Island
Quintalia stoddartii (Advena stoddartii)
Stoddart’s glass-snail
n/a, presumed extinct
Christinus guentheri
Lord Howe Island gecko
Maintain numbers and range
Oligosoma lichenigerum
Lord Howe Island skink
Area of occupancy increased by at least 10%
Cyanoramphus cookii
Norfolk Island green parrot
The population has increased to 1000 individuals, including 150 to 200 breeding pairs, and the breeding range has extended to the south of the island
Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata
Norfolk Island morepork
The population size has increased by at least 30% from 2023, and breeding is occurring both inside and outside of the national park
Pachycephala pectoralis xanthoprocta
Norfolk Island golden whistler
The population is at least 2000 individuals and distributed across Norfolk Island
Petroica multicolor
Norfolk Island robin
The population is at least 1500 individuals, and the distribution extends outside the national park and its fringes to other areas of the island (such as other reserves and more southern parts of the island)
Pterodroma neglecta neglecta
Kermadec petrel
There are at least 100 breeding pairs on Phillip Island with ongoing high breeding success
Table 2 Ten-year targets for plant species
Species
Common name
Target a
Abutilon julianae
Norfolk Island abutilon
1000
Achyranthes arborescens
Chaff tree, soft-wood
1000
Achyranthes margaretarum
Phillip Island chaffy tree
500
Anthosachne kingiana kingiana
Phillip Island wheat grass
100 groups of plants
Blechnum norfolkianum
Norfolk Island water-fern
1000
Boehmeria australis australis
Tree nettle, nettletree
1000
Calystegia affinis
A creeper
100 groups of plants
Clematis dubia
Clematis
500
Coprosma baueri
Coastal coprosma
1500
Coprosma pilosa
Mountain coprosma
1000
Cordyline obtecta
Ti
3000
Dendrobium brachypus
Norfolk Island orchid
No decline
Dysoxylum bijugum
Sharkwood
2000
Elatostema montanum
Mountain procris
100
Euphorbia norfolkiana
Norfolk Island euphorbia
1000
Euphorbia obliqua
A herb
2000
Hibiscus insularis
Phillip Island hibiscus
1000
Hypolepis dicksonioides
Downy ground-fern, brake fern, ground fern
750
Ileostylus micranthus
Mistletoe
750
Lastreopsis calantha
Shield-fern
250
Marattia salicina (Ptisana salicina)
King fern, para, potato fern
250
Melicope littoralis
Shade tree
1000
Melicytus latifolius
Norfolk Island mahoe
500
Melicytus ramiflorus subsp. oblongifolius
Whiteywood
1000
Meryta angustifolia
Narrow-leaved meryta
1000
Meryta latifolia
Broad-leaved meryta
1000
Muehlenbeckia australis
Shrubby creeper, pohuehue
250
Myoporum obscurum
Popwood
1000
Myrsine ralstoniae
Beech
3000
Pennantia endlicheri
Pennantia
1000
Phreatia limenophylax
Norfolk Island phreatia
Established in a second location
Phreatia paleata
White lace orchid
No decline
Pittosporum bracteolatum
Oleander
3000
Planchonella costata
Bastard ironwood
1000
Polyphlebium endlicherianum
Middle filmy fern
250
Pteris kingiana
King’s brakefern
500
Pteris zahlbruckneriana
Netted brakefern
250
Senecio australis
A daisy
3000
Senecio evansianus
A daisy
250
Senecio hooglandii
A daisy
750
Streblus pendulinus
Siah’s backbone
1000
Taeniophyllum norfolkianum
Minute orchid, ribbon-root orchid
No decline
Tmesipteris norfolkensis
Hanging fork-fern
1000
Ungeria floribunda
Bastard oak
1000
Wikstroemia australis
Kurrajong
1000
Zehneria baueriana
Native cucumber, giant cucumber
300 groups of plants
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
2034 management target
Pressures addressed a
No new potentially damaging exotic fauna, flora or pathogens establish on islands within the Norfolk Island Group
Impacts of potential new invasive species including pathogens
At least a 50% decrease in activity and/or density of rats in the national park with no negative side effects on native species
Predation by rodents
An 80% reduction of feral chickens in the national park relative to 2023 levels
Predation or damage by chickens
Free-roaming cats detected on less than 50% of the island
Predation by cats
Numbers of rosellas in the national park reduced by 50%
Lack of available nest sites
Swamphen activity on Phillip Island maintained at or reduced below current levels
Predation by swamphens
Argentine ants eradicated from Norfolk Island
Predation by Argentine ants
Minimise spread of Phytophthora cinnamomi beyond baseline distributions within the park and across the island<br>Plant dieback caused by P. cinnamomi is reduced to the point where intervention is no longer necessary
Infection by pathogens already present
Extent of high-quality native vegetation is increased (for detailed targets for restoration of native vegetation, refer to Table 28)
Loss, degradation and fragmentation of native vegetation<br>Competition from weeds/change of habitat due to weed invasion
Fire risk to protected areas and other areas of native vegetation is minimised, and any outbreaks in or threatening these areas are swiftly suppressed<br>Increased awareness and vigilance to prevent unplanned ignitions and to report and stop them rapidly when detected
Increased fire risk as a result of climate change
Limited availability of suitable nest sites overcome such that, for each hollow‑nesting species, there is an increase of at least 20% in the number of breeding attempts in managed nest sites
Lack of available nest sites
Insurance captive breeding or nursery populations established and appropriately managed, if required<br>All threatened plant species protected in seed banks<br>New wild populations established if required
Problems caused by small populations<br>Other in-situ pressures
Any incursion of a significant invasive species on Phillip Island is swiftly eradicated
Impacts of potential new invasive species
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.