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Supplementary Form C • Threatened species & Ecological Communities • Migratory species • Listed marine species

(use Form A for Cetaceans)

1 Under which section(s) of the EPBC Act are you applying for this permit? It will help you complete your application if you know which list in the EPBC Act the affected species/ecological community appears on. Search the lists at: www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl Please note some species appear on more than one list. For example the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas is a listed threatened species, a listed migratory species, and a listed marine species. Select all that apply

Section 201 — Listed threatened species and ecological communities

Section 216 — Listed migratory species

Section 258 — Listed marine species

2 On the next page list details of species or ecological communities that will be affected by the action. Use the following codes to enter details in columns 3, 4 and 5.

Column 3 Conservation status of threatened species or ecological communities under EPBC Act EW Extinct in the wild EX Extinct CE Critically endangered EN Endangered VU Vulnerable CD Conservation dependent

Column 5 Type of effect DE Death IN Injury TR Trading TA Taking KE Keeping MO Moving

Use this supplementary form if you are applying for a permit to kill, injure, take, trade, keep or move a listed species or ecological community, a listed migratory species, or a listed marine species in a Commonwealth Area. You will also need to complete “The General Permit Application Form”.

If you are proposing to take or send specimens out of Australia it is likely that you will also need an export permit. Import permits may also be necessary for taking specimens into an overseas country. For more information on imports and exports contact the Wildlife Trade Assessments Section on 02 6274 2880.

Please note that it is a requirement under subsection 200(3) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 that details of this application (which may include the applicant's name) be provided

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Details of species or ecological communities that will be affected by the action.

Common name of listed species/ecological communities, listed migratory species, or listed marine species.

Scientific name of species

Common and scientific names are available at the

Department’s website: www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl

Conservation status under EPBC Act

Estimated number that will be affected. For ecological communities, provide estimate of the affected area

Type of effect

Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of south-eastern Australia (Grey Box Woodland)

NA EN Vegetation management for fire management and other maintenance works as described in Attachment 2 would potentially result in the following impacts annually:

• Minor lopping of branches of up to 150 mature Grey Box trees (<10% impact to the canopy of each tree).

IN

• Removal of up to 150 saplings as they appear along the boundary fence as required.

TA

• Moving dead, dying or lopped woody debris up to 10 metres away from the existing tracks and boundary fences as required.

MO

• Ecological burning of up to 5 hectares of Grey Box Woodland annually.

IN

• Non-destructive digging (NDD) and/ or ripping of soils up to 0.01 hectares to destroy rabbit warrens/ harbour.

IN

• Taking of species from a threated ecological community-up to 200 specimens.

TA

Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain (NTGVVP)

NA CE Vegetation Management and other works as described in Attachment 2 would result in the following impacts annually:

Burning

• Ecological burning of up to 3 hectares within the Annandale Grassland Reserve.

IN

Mowing / slashing regime

• Airside

IN

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o Mowing/ slashing in runway strips (minimum monthly) of up to 80 hectares of NTGVVP.

o Mowing/ slashing outside of runway strips (average monthly, depending on weather and growth rates) of up to 180 hectares of NTGVVP.

• Landside

o Mowing/ slashing of all areas of NTGVVP (average monthly, depending on weather and growth rates) of up to 50 hectares.

Herbicide and Pesticide application

• Airside

o Insecticide spraying is undertaken every six weeks on average within 50 metres either side of the runways within up to 13 hectares of NTGVVP.

• Landside/ Airside

o Boundary fence line spraying of herbicide is undertaken across approximately 142 hectares along the airside perimeter fence. This has the potential to disturb up to 10 hectares of NTGVVP.

• Landside

o Fence line spraying around the paddocks dispersed throughout Melbourne Airport.

o Weed control within paddocks.

IN

Cattle grazing

• Landside

o Cattle grazing in up to 50 hectares of NTGVVP.

IN

Fence installation, maintenance and post replacement

• Airside

o Disturbance of up to 0.001 hectares.

• Landside

o Disturbance of up to 0.002 hectares.

TA/ IN

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Utilities (drainage / sewer / electricity) installation, maintenance and replacement

• Airside

o Disturbance of up to 0.003 hectares.

• Landside

o Disturbance of up to 0.002 hectares.

TA/ IN

Groundwater bore installation, maintenance and replacement

• Airside

o Disturbance of up to 0.002 hectares.

• Landside

o Disturbance of up to 0.002 hectares.

TA/ IN

Taking of species from a threated ecological community

• Airside and Landside

o Up to 200 specimens (combined).

TA

Rabbit Management

• Airside and Landside

o Non-destructive digging (NDD) and /or ripping of soils up to 0.02 hectares.

IN

Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands (Freshwater) of the Temperate Lowland Plains (Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands)

NA CE Vegetation management and other maintenance works as described in Attachment 2 would result in the following impacts annually:

Mowing/ slashing

• Airside

o All areas of SHWTLP (average monthly, depending on weather and growth rates) (0.15ha).

• Landside

o All areas of SHWTLP (average monthly, depending on weather and growth rates) (0.20ha).

IN

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Taking of species from a threated ecological community

• Airside and Landside

o Up to 200 specimens (combined).

TA

Growling Grass Frog

(Known habitat is found within waterways and adjacent land of the Moonee Ponds Creek, Arundel Creek, Deep Creek and the Maribyrnong River).

Litoria raniformis VU Maintenance and operational activities are not expected to impact Growling Grass Frogs when the following actions are undertaken.

Where invasive/ ground breaking works occurs within a 50 metre buffer of known, likely or potential Growling Grass Frog habitat (identified in Attachment 1), all works must comply with APAM’s Growling Grass Frog Habitat Management Procedure (Attachment 3).

In the unlikely event that accidental injury or death occurs this will be documented and reported to the Department within 7 days.

MO

Where the project is of less than 1 km2 in size, provide the location as a single pair of latitude and longitude references. Latitude and longitude references should be used instead of AMG and/or digital coordinates. Where the project area is greater than 1 km2, or any dimension is greater than 1 km, provide additional coordinates to enable accurate identification of the location of the project area.

Locality:

Feature:

Latitude: Longitude:

degrees: minutes: seconds: degrees: minutes: seconds:

Arundel Creek 37° 40' 53.2" S 144° 49' 44.6" E

Moonee Ponds Creek 37° 40' 01.3" S 144° 51' 36.3" E

Deep Creek 37° 39' 03.0" S 144° 48' 25.3" E

Maribyrnong River 37° 40' 55.1" S 144° 48' 48.6" E

Grey Box Woodland (Centre Point)

37° 39' 04.7" S 144° 49' 30.2" E

NTGVVP(scattered across airport, this is airport central point)

37° 40' 35.8" S 144° 50' 13.5" E

Seasonal Herbaceous Wetland (SHW)

37° 42' 33.3" S 144° 50' 40.4" E

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37°

39' 29.2" S 144° 50' 34.0" E

Attach a map to show the boundaries of the area in which the action will be conducted.

Please refer to Attachment 1 displaying the locations of listed threatened species and ecological communities within Melbourne Airport land.

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3 Provide an attachment describing the action addressing the

following points.

A. The objectives and purposes of the action; B. The equipment and methods used;

APAM has commissioned a large number of ecological studies and assessments at Melbourne Airport since acquiring the lease in 1997. Ecological consultants continue to monitor and assess Melbourne Airport's flora and fauna, both terrestrial and aquatic. As a result, a number of listed threatened species and ecological communities have been identified within Melbourne Airport.

The locations of listed threatened species and ecological communities are well documented throughout Melbourne Airport. These areas of listed threatened species and ecological communities are located on Attachment 1 and include the threatened ecological communities: Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of south-eastern Australia (Grey Box Woodland), Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain (NTGVVP) and Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands (Freshwater) of the Temperate Lowland Plains (Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands), along with waterways within the Melbourne Airport estate which provide habitat for Growling Grass Frog. Operational and infrastructure maintenance activities at Melbourne Airport therefore have the potential to directly or indirectly impact on listed threatened species or ecological communities. Direct impacts include maintenance and upgrades of infrastructure and general maintenance to ensure the safety of the travelling public and the smooth operation of this critical transport infrastructure.

The proposed action comprises a series of actions that encompass maintenance and operational management activities critical to the management of Melbourne Airport and surrounding land (Attachment 2).

4 What are the likely short and long term impacts of the proposed action on the species or the ecological community? See Attachment 2 for likely impacts resulting from each proposed action. The proposed operational and infrastructure maintenance activities may result in the following short term impacts on an annual basis:

• Minor disturbance to Grey Box Woodland. • Minor temporary disturbance to NTGVVP

and Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands as a result of vehicle access and infrastructure and vegetation maintenance.

• Small scale reduction in NTGVVP where new fence posts are installed.

• No long-term impacts are expected. • No impacts to Growling Grass Frog are

expected. This permit would only be applied to actions that are not significant, following a self-assessment against the following guidelines

• Matters of National Environmental Significance - Significant impact guidelines 1.1

• Significant impact guidelines for the vulnerable

Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis) Policy statement 3.14

• Actions on, or impacting upon, Commonwealth land, and actions by commonwealth agencies Significant impact guidelines 1.2

5 Describe the steps that will be taken to minimise impacts on the listed species/ecological community, including contingency plans in the case of events that may adversely affect members of the species/ecological community.

Attachment 2 describes how impacts to listed threatened species and ecological communities are minimised throughout the course of each action. All works are to be undertaken in accordance with the Melbourne Airport: Biodiversity and Conservation Management Plan (BCMP) (Biosis 2017) and specific Operational Environmental Management Plans (OEMPs) and or the Growling Grass Frog Habitat Management Procedure (Attachment 3).

6 Attach a description of any research relevant to the affected species or communities that will be carried out in the course of or in conjunction with the proposed action, including:

A. a copy of the research proposal;

B. the names of the researchers and institutions involved in or supporting the research; and

C relationship of the researchers to the permit applicant, including any funding being provided by the permit applicant.

7 Will the action involve invasive techniques? No Go to next question

Yes If permit relates to mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians, attach evidence that the proposed methods have been approved by an independent Animal Ethics Committee (this may include a State or Territory ethics committee, even if the action is conducted in a Commonwealth area).

A permit can only be issued under one of the following criteria: the action

• will contribute significantly to the conservation of a listed species/ecological community (go to Question 8); or

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• will be incidental to, and not the purpose of the action (go to Question 12); or

• is of particular significance to indigenous tradition (go to Question 15); or

• is necessary to control pathogen(s) (go to Question 18).

8 Are you applying on the basis that the action will contribute significantly to the conservation of a listed species/ecological community?

No Go to 12

Yes Go to next question

9 Why do you believe that the action will contribute significantly to the conservation of listed species/ecological communities, listed migratory species or listed marine species?

10 Will the proposed action implement the recommendations of any recovery plan or wildlife conservation plan in force for the species or ecological community that may be affected by the action?

Commonwealth recovery plans that are in force are available at

www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-list-common.html

Commonwealth wildlife conservation plans that are in force are available at www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/migratory/publications/shorebird-plan.html

State and territory recovery plans are available from state and territory environmental agencies.

No Go to next question

Yes Describe how this will be implemented.

11 Will the proposed action respond directly or indirectly to recommendations of any national or international organisation responsible for management of the affected species?

No Go to next question

Yes Describe how the proposed action will respond.

12 Are you applying on the basis that the impact of the action will be incidental to, and not the purpose of, the action?

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No Go to 15

Yes Go to next question

13 Why do you believe that the impact of the action will be incidental to and not the purpose of the action?

The purpose of the actions is to ensure that the existing infrastructure and surrounding landscape at Melbourne Airport is maintained to a standard that allows for the safe and effective operation of the Airport. Maintenance and management of vegetation is required to meet the requirements within the BCMP, Airport Environment Strategy (AES), Grey Box Woodland Fire Management Plan (FMP), Grey Box Woodland Environmental Management Plan and the Annandale Grassland Ecological Management Specification and to ensure the safe operation of the Airport continues.

14 Why do you believe that the taking of the action will not adversely affect the: i. survival or recovery in nature of the species or ecological community? ii. conservation status of a listed species or ecological community?

The Melbourne Airport Woodland is one of the largest remnant stands of Grey Box in southern Australia, with an area of approximately 137 ha. An Environmental Management Plan is in place to guide the management and monitoring of the Woodland to ensure that APAM meet their obligations for management of listed ecological communities on Commonwealth land under the EPBC Act. The proposed works will not result in a reduction in the total extent of the Woodland, nor will they result in a reduction in quality. As the required works will only occur along existing access tracks and fences, the majority of lopping required is only for small branches and saplings/shrubs. The survival and recovery of this occurrence of a listed ecological community will not be impacted. Similarly, the conservation status of this listed ecological community will not be adversely impacted by the proposed action. The Woodland will continue to be subject to ongoing management, maintenance and enhancement in accordance with the existing Environmental Management Plan. While a small area identifiable as NTGVVP would be impacted, impacts to this vegetation will not change the broader extent of occurrence for the community. The

impacts are small and will be short-term. In addition, areas of NTGVVP within the Airport are largely the result of native grasses re-colonising previously disturbed areas. As a result, these areas are of low quality and have poor species richness. No impacts to Growling Grass Frog are expected. The proposed works are therefore not expected to adversely affect the survival, recovery or conservation status of Growling Grass Frog or NTGVVP. The areas of Seasonal Herbaceous Wetland at Melbourne Airport are relatively small, ephemeral and fluctuate in quality and extent over time. The temporary impacts from mowing is not expected to impact the ongoing survival and recovery of this occurrence of a listed ecological community.

15 Are you applying on the basis that the action is of particular

significance to indigenous tradition? No Go to 18

Yes Go to next question

16 Explain why do you believe that the proposed action will be of particular significance to indigenous tradition?

17 Why do you believe that the proposed action will not adversely

affect the:

i. survival or recovery in nature of the listed species or ecological community; or

ii. conservation status of the listed species or ecological community.

18 Are you applying on the basis that the action is necessary to control a pathogen(s), and is conducted in a way that will, as far as is practicable, keep to a minimum any impact on listed species/ecological communities, listed migratory species or listed marine species? No Continue to Payment Section

Yes Go to next question