ACF: Australian government approved clearing of more than 57,000ha of threatened habitat in 2025

More than 57,000 hectares of threatened species habitat was approved for destruction by the Australian government in 2025 — the most in 15 years, according to analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). The ACF’s annual “extinction wrapped” report said the habitat greenlit for land clearing was about 10 times the size of Sydney Harbour, more than double the 2024 figure and over five times the 10,426 hectares approved for razing in 2023.

The report also noted that 42 new plants and animals were added to Australia’s list of species facing extinction. Former Greens leader Adam Bandt, the ACF’s new chief executive, described the year-on-year doubling as “really distressing” and said “a lot of people don’t know that Australia is a global deforestation hotspot … every year, we lose more forest than the loss from the entire palm oil industry in Indonesia.” The northern quoll was the species worst affected by federally approved land clearing, with 7,643 hectares marked for destruction.

Of the threatened species land clearing, the ACF found 98% occurred in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, with the mining industry accounting for two-thirds of the area cleared. The Pilbara region of Western Australia had five animals worst affected: the northern quoll, night parrot, ghost bat, Pilbara leaf-nosed bat and Pilbara olive python.

Key Topics

Science, Australian Conservation Foundation, Western Australia, Pilbara, Northern Quoll, Adam Bandt