Gippsland Environment Group Inc
Lobbying against environmental threats on the unceded lands of the GunaiKurnai, Yaitmathang, Ngarigo and Bidwell Peoples
Statutory Non-Compliance and Unlawful Damage to Grevillea celata and Glossy Black-Cockatoo habitat by FFMV in Nowa Nowa Lyles Bk planned burn site
Serious and avoidable damage by FFMV pre-burn road works in known Grevillea celata and Glossy Black-Cockatoo sites
GunaiKurnai Country: Nowa Nowa Lyles Break Planned Burn (GP-TBO-NOW-0368)
7 ha was burnt by FFMV over two days on the 24th and 31st October 2025 | Total area planned to be burnt is 406 ha
Four surveys conducted in Novemember 2025
Report submitted to EPBC Compliance 16-12-2025
Gippsland Environment Group formal submission and complaint
This page outlines the Gippsland Environment Group (GEG) formal submission and complaint to DEECA/FFMV and the Environment Compliance and Enforcement division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water concerning serious and avoidable damage to habitat for two nationally listed threatened species — Nowa Nowa or Colquhuon Grevillea - Grevillea celata and the Glossy Black-Cockatoo - Calyptorhynchus lathami.
The damage occurred during pre-burn mechanical works undertaken by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) within the Nowa Nowa Lyles Break planned burn area.
Four independent survey reports prepared by GEG document the damage. These surveys were conducted in November 2025 and include detailed maps, photographic evidence, GPS coordinates and field observations
Legislative Compliance Concerns
The documented impacts raise serious concerns regarding compliance with statutory obligations under The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The evidence indicates a significant failure to prevent avoidable harm to protected habitat within the planned burn area.
Conservation Background: Grevillea celata
The Nowa Nowa Grevillea - Grevillea celata is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) under the Victorian FFG Act, and Vulnerable (VU) under the EPBC Act. Reference: VicFlora species profile (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria).
This grevillea is one of Victoria's rarest plants and is known only from the Colquhoun State Forest east of Bruthen, growing in highly restricted habitat on red siliceous or pale granitic sands in dry sclerophyll forest [2]. Given this extremely limited distribution, the survival of the species depends on the protection of every known plant and habitat patch.
1. Documented Threats to Grevillea celata
According to the 2021 Threatened Species Assessment [1] (Victorian Government): The species is threatened by numerous climatic, physical and biotic factors, including:
Climatic / physical threats
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Decreased rainfall and increased evaporation
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Extreme temperatures and drought
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Increased frequency and intensity of bushfires
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Unseasonal prescribed burning, especially winter burning
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Plants are likely to be killed by fire and do not require fire for regeneration
Biotic threats
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Weed invasion
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Cinnamon root-rot fungus (Phytophthora cinnamomi)
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Nectar robbing by honeybees (ineffective pollinators)
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Reduced pollination success due to declines in honeyeater pollinators
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Reduced co-occurring floral resources (Correa reflexa, Epacris impressa, Banksia marginata) due to inappropriate fire regimes
Floral resources critical for pollination are severely reduced by increased fire frequency, intensity, and poorly timed burns.
1.2 Recovery Plan Directives
The National Recovery Plan for Grevillea celata [2] (2006) explicitly identifies:
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Plants on Lyles Break are threatened by inappropriate fire regimes.
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Road works and slashing are additional threats to roadside populations.
The roadside works and planned ignition activities documented in this complaint align directly with the threats identified in both the species assessment and the Recovery Plan.
ABOVE: The yellow post location indicating significant vegetation – presumably Grevillea celata. A bulldozer has scraped around the tree in pre burn preparation works. Red arrow marks a Grevillea celata plant found under bulldozer debris.
2. Documented Damage by FFMV Pre-Burn Works
Grevillea celata plants damaged in known sites
Roadside bulldozer and tree felling operations undertaken by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) along Smarts Break and Lyles Break have directly impacted known Grevillea celata sites within the planned burn area.
Despite plants being clearly marked with pink tape—indicating staff had identified and mapped them—bulldozers entered these areas, causing:
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Felling of trees into marked Grevillea celata habitat
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Soil scraping around the plants
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Pushing debris into piles across occupied habitat
Multiple Grevillea celata plants were found:
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Inside pushed-up debris heaps
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Beneath felled trees
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Buried within disturbed soil
It also appears that two Grevillea celata plants may have been dug up amongst the bulldozer works and taken away.
All these actions contravene basic threatened-species avoidance obligations and directly undermine requirements outlined in the species’ Recovery Plan.
Below: Damaged G. celata plants and habitat documented by GEG in November 2025
3. Destruction of Glossy Black-Cockatoo feed trees
Along Lyles Break, Black sheoak (Allocasuarina littoralis) —the Glossy Black-Cockatoo’s essential food trees—were cut down and pushed into debris piles. A considerable number of she-oaks have been damaged in roadside works – including she-oaks with chewed seed cones (orts) underneath, confirming active and recent feeding. In other places, along Lyles Bk, roadside trees have been felled into sheoaks and a large amount of debris and fuel is now present.
A short survey of sheoaks on the southern side of Lyles Break also revealed numerous chewed cones, demonstrating that this area constitutes critical feeding habitat for the species, which is already constrained to small unburnt forest refuges.
The destruction of feed trees and disturbance in this location therefore represent a significant and avoidable threat to a species already under severe post-fire pressure.
Below: Photos November 2025 taken by GEG documenting damage to Glossy Black-Cockatoo feed trees in pre burn roadside mechanical works
4. Imminent Risk from Proposed Direct Ignition
Along Lyles Break, the bulldozer and tree felling works have created large volumes of dead and drying fuel. It appears FFMV intend to directly ignite these debris piles during the planned burn.
This would:
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Kill remaining Grevillea celata plants (a fire-sensitive species)
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Destroy fire-sensitive black sheoaks and nearby fire that doesn’t kill sheoak trees, will cause cones to open and drop seed and Glossy-Black Cockatoos will not feed on seed on the ground
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Remove active Glossy Black-Cockatoo feeding sites and further reduce feeding habitat for a rapidly declining population
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Exacerbate the decline of two threatened species with limited surviving habitat
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Breach principles in both species’ conservation documentation
5. GEG has requested immediate actions
Both these species have extremely limited remaining habitat in Victoria. Further disturbance risks extinction of Grevillea celata and continued decline of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo.
In light of the EPBC-listed status of both species and the severity of observed impacts, GEG request the following:
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Immediate removal of the Nowa Nowa Lyles Break planned burn (GP-TBO-NOW-0368) from the current burning schedule.
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If the burn is not removed from the burning schedule, it must be referred to the Australian Government as a controlled action under the EPBC Act, acknowledging the significant risk to listed species and critical habitat.
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A formal investigation into FFMV actions, decision-making processes, and compliance with state and federal threatened species responsibilities.
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Immediate protective measures and remediation for impacted Grevillea celata habitat and Glossy Black-Cockatoo feeding sites.
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Implementation of strict protocols to prevent further incursions into mapped threatened-species habitat during planned burn operations.
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Please advise what Phytophthora protocols were adhered to regarding hygiene of machinery
6. GEG has requested a written response.
GEG lodged this report on 16 December 2025. We requested to be kept informed of all findings and actions taken.
To date - 23 February 2026, GEG has not received a response from either DEECA/FFMV or the Environment Compliance and Enforcement division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Take Action - Send an email
Burning this site will result in further damage to critical habitat and vulnerable species
Write to the decision makers below and ask that the Nowa Nowa Lyles Break Planned Burn (GP-TBO-NOW-0368)
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Is removed from the burning schedule, or
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It is referred to the Federal Environment Department as a controlled action due to the presence of EPBC-listed threatened species.
👇🏽
Peter Brick, District Manager - Tambo District, Forest Fire Management Victoria
Email: peter.brick@deeca.vic.gov.au
Steve Dimopoulos MP – State Min for Environment
Email: reception.dimopoulos@ecodev.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 862 43101
Chris Hardman - Chief Fire Officer and Executive Director of the Forest and Fire Operations Division at Forest Fire Management Victoria
Email: chris.hardman@deeca.vic.gov.au
Murray Watt – Federal Min for Environment
Email: Minister.Watt@dcceew.gov.auPhone: 02 6277 7920
EPBC Compliance - Compliance and Enforcement at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water
Full reports here
To EPBC Compliance and Enforcement at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Formal Complaint and Request for Urgent Intervention — Damage to Grevillea celata Habitat and Glossy Black-Cockatoo Feed Trees within the Nowa Nowa Lyles Break Planned Burn (GP-TBO-NOW-0368)
Date of report: 16 December 2025
To EPBC Compliance and Enforcement at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Glossy Black Cockatoo survey
Off Lyles Bk in Nowa Nowa Lyles Bk planned burn GP-TBO-NOW-0368
Date of survey 21-11-2025
Date of report 22-11-2025
To EPBC Compliance and Enforcement at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Grevillea celata survey within the Nowa Nowa Lyles Break Planned Burn (GP-TBO-NOW-0368) Date of survey 21-11-2025
Date of report 08-12-2025
To EPBC Compliance and Enforcement at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Grevillea celata and Glossy Black-Cockatoo habitat survey
Date of survey 28-11-2025
Date of report 08-12-2025
You can also contact those responsible below to give native forest proper independent oversight and protection of biodiversity in planned burns
Fire management planning is happening, without independent oversight, with the Department self-assessing and evaluating their own operations. FFMV do not monitor the efficacy of their planned burns in preventing bushfires.
In Victoria there is no mandatory Code for protection of biodiversity values in planned burn operations that takes into account obligations under the EPBC Act
There is no publicly available information on how operations are planned and how impact on threatened species is minimised and avoided
FFMV do no long term on- ground pre or post-burn survey for fauna, flora or habitat
FFMV rely on desktop data from the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas in planning which is outdated and does not show most recent records. This was highlighted by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office’s report Protecting Victoria’s Biodiversity (2021)
According to the Victorian Auditor General’s report Reducing Bushfire Risks. Victorian Auditor General (2020). “With the exception of some isolated case studies, DELWP does not know the effect of its burns on native flora and fauna”
Re efficacy of planned burns in preventing bushfires:
“We’ve understood for a long time now that logging can make bushfires worse, but it’s only in the last few years that evidence is showing that prescribed burning could be doing the same thing,” lead researcher Professor David Lindenmayer, ANU
You can send an email HERE 👉🏽 https://vnpa.org.au/action-minister-give-native-forests-proper-oversight/
Or write your own and send to:
👇🏽
Steve Dimopoulos MP – State Min for Environment
Email: reception.dimopoulos@ecodev.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 862 43101
Jacinta Allan – Premier of Victoria
Email: jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 9651 5000
Vicki Ward Minister for Emergency Services
Email: vicki.ward@parliament.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 358 704
Murray Watt – Federal Min for Environment
Email: Minister.Watt@dcceew.gov.au
Phone: 02 6277 7920
Office of Conservation Regulator, Kate Gavens
Email: conservationregulator@deeca.vic.gov.au
