Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00161:reg:2:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00161
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2 (pt 1/7)
Character Range: 14699–17662

2  Objectives and actions

The goal of this TAP is to minimise the impact of foxes on biodiversity in Australia and its territories by:

  • protecting affected native species and ecological communities, and
  • preventing further species and ecological communities from becoming threatened.

To achieve this goal, the plan has five main objectives, developed through the review of the previous TAP (Hart 2005) and consultation with experts. These objectives are to:

  1. prevent foxes occupying new areas in Australia and eradicate foxes from high-conservation-value 'islands'
  2. promote the maintenance and recovery of native species and ecological communities that are affected by fox predation
  3. improve knowledge and understanding of fox impacts and interactions with other species and other ecological processes
  4. improve the effectiveness, target specificity, integration and humaneness of control options for foxes, and
  5. increase awareness of all stakeholders of the objectives and actions of the TAP, and of the need to control and manage foxes.

Each objective is accompanied by a set of actions, which, when implemented, will help to achieve the goal of the plan. Performance indicators have been established for each objective. Progress will be assessed by determining the extent to which the performance indicators have been met.

The sections below provide background on each objective, followed by a table listing the actions required to meet the objective. Twenty actions have been developed to meet the five objectives.

Priorities for each action are given in the tables below, categorised as 'very high', 'high' or 'medium'. Each action has also been assigned a timeframe within which the outcome could be achieved once the action has commenced. Timeframes are categorised as short term (i.e. within three years), medium term (i.e. within three to five years) or long term (i.e. five years or beyond).

   Objective 1

Prevent foxes occupying new areas in Australia and eradicate foxes from high-conservation-value 'islands'

Key actions for Objective 1 include identifying 'islands' of high conservation value, ranking the risk to such areas posed by foxes, and developing and implementing management plans to protect such areas from foxes. The actions are designed to prevent foxes from occupying new areas in Australia where they are likely to impact significantly on biodiversity, and to remove them from high-conservation-value 'islands' where this is feasible. Fox-free 'islands' can be isolated by means of fencing, geographical features or intensive management to protect and restore habitats and ecological processes. The fox is absent from large parts of Australia (e.g. northern Australia), and an important activity is to monitor their distribution at the edge of their extent. The actions are of high to very high priority and could be achieved within three to five years. DEWHA is establishing a national database