The SPRAT database is the key source for items regulated under the EPBC Act. As such it holds records for all current and previously listed threatened species and ecological communities. Search results may also return profiles for species that are currently under assessment or have previously been assessed for inclusion on the threatened list. SPRAT does not hold records for all native flora and fauna.
Searching in SPRAT
Use the search bar on the home page to search for species and threatened ecological communities. Using part of a common name, scientific name or ecological community name will return a list of matching results which can be further refined using filters. You can also search by SPRAT Taxon ID or Community ID if you know it. Leaving the search bar empty will return all results, which you can also filter. Note several thousand results will be returned when no search term is used.
You can also search directly for conservation documents, migratory species, key threatening processes, key ecological features, the Register of Critical Habitat and items under assessment (finalised priority assessment lists) using the links on the home page.
Filters
Use the filters to narrow results by taxonomic group, EPBC Act status or location.
When using location as a search filter, please note that while every effort is made to keep this information up to date, the results may not be complete for a particular jurisdiction. Species and ecological communities that do not, or no longer occur, may be reported. Locations have been assigned using a variety of data sources including modelled distributions, historic observations, scientific literature and conservation documents but our understanding of where matters occur may have changed since first assigned in the database.
Understanding search results
Search results show species and ecological communities that match all or part of the search term, or a synonym in the case of species scientific name. Each result shows the ecological community name, or scientific name, common name and taxonomic group in case of species, inclusion on the different EPBC Act lists shown by coloured tags as well as threatened status and date that status came into effect if applicable.
As a species can be known by more than one scientific name, and the name at the time of EPBC Act listing may have been revised, SPRAT search results and profiles for species are organised by the currently accepted name recorded in the database. Other names including those used on various lists in legislation are shown within each individual profile. Accepted names are updated in line with authoritative data managed by the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) including the Australian National Species List and Australian Faunal Directory.
Search results can be displayed as tiles or as a list using the buttons in the middle of the search results header. You can sort and filter results and export them as CSV data files or use the API to access the full set of SPRAT data.
Species and ecological community profiles
Selecting a result opens the full profile for that species or ecological community. Profiles are organised into sections. Use the Contents menu on the left to jump to a section.
Key sections include:
- EPBC legal status and documents: the current listing status, any active or upcoming assessments, and links to conservation documents
- Other Commonwealth documents: additional plans, guidelines, policy statements and Federal Register of Legislation entries
- Status on other lists: state and territory listings, IUCN Red List status and other relevant listings
- Distribution: an indicative distribution map where available
- Superseded Commonwealth documents: earlier versions of documents, provided for reference.
Citing SPRAT
Each profile page includes a Cite this page button that generates a formatted citation for that record. Use this when referencing SPRAT data in reports, assessments or research.
Downloading data and API access
Data from SPRAT can be downloaded directly from search results and report pages using the Export data function.
You can download data from most list and search result pages. This exports the results as displayed, based on your current search and filter settings. As SPRAT is updated regularly, each export is date stamped as a snapshot of the database at that point in time. Legislative changes are applied on the day they come into effect, but larger reports may update a day later.
See API Data Access for bulk data access or API enquiries: API data access
Limitations of SPRAT
For a full explanation of data limitations and what SPRAT should and should not be used for, see About SPRAT.
Getting help
If you cannot find what you are looking for, or have a question about the data in SPRAT