Australia is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, with 10% of global biodiversity, and has the second highest rate of biodiversity deterioration. While significant progress has been made in expanding protected areas, the status of many ecosystems and species continues to deteriorate. This chapter reviews pressures influencing biodiversity; the institutions, policy instruments and financing used to protect threatened species and to promote conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; the degree to which biodiversity considerations have been integrated into sectoral policies; and the scale and pace of research, development and innovation.

This chapter reviews Australia’s frameworks relating to chemical management, with a particular focus on industrial chemicals. It includes legislation and policies across all tiers of government, provides an overview of the main challenges associated with chemical management and discusses strengths and weaknesses of the system. While it is too soon to know the effects of state/territorial and Commonwealth legislative and policy reforms currently being developed, the chapter looks into how they may address gaps in the risk management system and what else could be done.