Plant Conservation Australia held a WA Priority Flora Workshop on 12 October 2026 at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction’s (DBCA) Keiran McNamara Conservation Science Centre in Perth. The aim of the workshop was to identify and begin scoping pilot project opportunities related to the conservation status assessment of Priority Flora in Western Australia, to facilitate threatened species listings or removals from the Priority Flora list.
Presenters included PCA committee member David Coates providing background, workshop objectives and future directions, various DBCA staff working in this area, Stephen van Leeuwen from Curtin University on Indigenous perspectives and Alicia Michael from Rio Tino providing an industry perspective. Thank you to DBCA, the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute and Rio Tinto for supporting the workshop, and to everyone for their enthusiastic participation!
Background
The definition of Priority Flora in WA refers to native plant taxa that are potentially rare or threatened, but do not yet have formal legal status as Threatened Flora under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 . They are maintained on a special list by the DBCA to guide research, survey efforts, and environmental impact assessments.
The DBCA classifies Priority Flora into four main categories based on how well-known they are and their level of threat:
- Priority 1: Poorly-known species (few locations, no conservation lands)
- Known from very few locations (generally 5 or fewer).
- None of the populations are on lands managed for conservation (e.g., found on pastoral/agricultural land, road reserves, or active leases).
- Often under immediate threat of habitat loss or degradation.
- Priority 2: Poorly-known species (few locations, some on conservation lands)
- Known from very few locations (generally 5 or fewer).
- At least some populations are located on lands managed for conservation, though they still face potential risks.
- Priority 3: Poorly-known species (several locations)
- Known from several locations, some of which may be on conservation lands.
- The plant populations are spread out or not yet thoroughly surveyed, meaning more data is needed before they can be evaluated for a threatened listing.
- Priority 4: Rare, Near Threatened and monitored species
- Considered adequately surveyed and known.
- Do not currently meet the criteria to be listed as threatened, or have been recently removed from the threatened list.
- Require regular monitoring to ensure their status does not decline.
