The development of Australia’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) industry can learn and benefit from decades of international experience and research. Local knowledge of our unique environment and organisms is, however, critical for ensuring development minimises impacts to marine ecosystems. Consequently, it is clear that long-term monitoring and adaptive management strategies that evaluate and address environmental impacts of offshore wind farms are required throughout the operational lifespan of ORE. This collaborative National Environmental Science Program project established an inventory of environmental and cultural data and best practice monitoring standards to support regulatory decision-making for ORE development for current proposed and declared areas: Hunter, Gippsland and Bass Strait, Illawarra, Southern Ocean and south-west Western Australia. We provide detail on 1) potential impacts of installation, operation, and decommissioning; 2) best practice standards for monitoring; 3) a desk-top analysis of cultural and environmental values of Indigenous communities with links to development areas; 4) seabed geomorphology and habitat characterisation; 5) potential interactions with oceanography and 6) seasonality and distribution of interacting species. The inventory, which is available to Government, proponents, and researchers, will improve effectiveness of future research for the sustainable development of ORE in Australia.