Australia has entered a phase of rapid development of an offshore renewable energy sector with three areas declared and three areas where consultation is underway or completed. To ensure environmental sustainability of the sector, there is an immediate need to ensure that assessment and regulatory processes can access relevant information on species at risk to operations comprehensively and ensure that decisions are evidence based. While some of the information available for planning, assessment and regulation of this sector is available in the public domain, there is much that is currently beyond the reach of assessment and regulatory agencies.
In this presentation, the outcomes of a rapid exploration of information on a priority subset of listed species identified by relevant government agencies with a particular focus on the greater Bass Strait region will be outlined. This information gathering process was facilitated via a multi-stakeholder workshop, data-holder and user survey and data and literature search. Eight key recommendations, co-designed with stakeholders involved in the exploration process, that could be implemented for first, improving connectivity between information holders and users and second, improving delivery of key information needed for decision making, including filling information gaps, will be detailed.