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Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas)

The ghost bat, Macroderma gigas, is Australia's only carnivorous bat and the world's only living species in its genus. It occurs in isolated populations across northern Australia, using caves, rock crevices and disused mines for roosting, so clearing, mining, construction and access near subterranean features can affect important roosts and foraging habitat.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Near threatened.

Breeding season

Timing varies with latitude. Northern colonies may give birth from July to August, while southern colonies in Queensland and the Pilbara generally give birth from mid-October to late November. Ghost bats aggregate at maternity roosts through the warmer months and disperse more widely in the cooler months.

Survey and disturbance timing must be adjusted to the regional population. Queensland guidance recommends targeted surveys from September to April, with additional June to August surveys where maternity roosts are absent or winter dispersal is relevant.

  • Mating: Mating occurs during the dry season. Central Queensland observations place mating around April, with mating activity reported through the autumn period.
  • Births and maternity aggregation: Top End colonies may give birth in July and August. Births in central Queensland and the Pilbara occur from mid-October to late November. Maternity roost use commonly extends from September to April.
  • Dependent young: Young begin flying at about seven weeks. In central Queensland, all young were capable of flight by the end of January and weaning was completed during March.
  • Winter dispersal and roost switching: Many adults disperse in small groups during the cooler months, using caves, rock shelters, overhangs and mines over a wider area. Some individuals remain near warm roosts, especially pregnant females.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest during the maternity period and while young are dependent. Across the full Australian range, avoid disturbance from July to March, with the most sensitive period commonly October to January in southern colonies and July to August in some Top End colonies.

Identification

The ghost bat is a very large, pale microbat with a distinctive head shape and slow, manoeuvrable hunting flight. It is most reliably identified from a clear view, supported by suitable acoustic recordings or roost evidence.

Adults have light grey, silver-grey, pale brown or cream fur, usually paler underneath. The ears are long and joined above the head, the eyes are large, the nose-leaf is prominent and forked, and there is no external tail, although a full tail membrane is present.

The bat is Australia's largest microbat. It has a broad-winged, relatively slow flight and may perch in vegetation or on rock before making short attacks on prey.

Forearm: 96 to 113 mm

Weight: 74 to 144 g in Queensland survey guidance; 130 to 175 g in recent Pilbara information

Wingspan: 640 to 720 mm in Queensland survey guidance; 700 to 850 mm in recent Pilbara information

Identification: Distinguishing features

The combination of very large size, pale colour, joined ears, large eyes, prominent nose-leaf and tailless appearance separates the ghost bat from other Australian microbats.

Brief flight views can be confused with the yellow-bellied sheathtail bat or a barn owl. The yellow-bellied sheathtail bat is smaller, up to about 60 g, with long narrow wings and faster, more direct flight. A barn owl is similar in size and colour but does not show the ghost bat's joined ears and bat-like flight profile.

  • Treat an unconfirmed brief glimpse as a possible ghost bat rather than a record suitable for impact assessment.
  • Use clear photographs, experienced observers or independently reviewed acoustic recordings where identification affects project decisions.

Identification: Field signs and calls

Fresh scats are large, about 15 mm by 4 mm, and commonly form mounds beneath favoured roosts. Discarded food remains, including bones, feathers, fur, wings and insect parts, may be scattered through or around the scat pile.

Roosts may contain audible chirps or twittering. The characteristic chirp has been likened to two coins being rubbed together and may be heard from more than 100 m away. Echolocation calls are low intensity and short, so the bat generally needs to pass within about 5 to 7 m of a detector for a useful recording.

Ghost bats also produce a range of social calls, including chirp-trills, squabbles, whistles and ticks. Calls can be confused with some other species or cave insects, so acoustic identification should be confirmed by an experienced bat-call practitioner.

  • Search cave and mine floors for large scats and prey remains without moving rubble or entering sensitive roost chambers unnecessarily.
  • Record the location, freshness and extent of sign, and inspect the entrance and surrounding rock features for repeated use.

Distribution: Current state and regional range

The ghost bat is endemic to Australia and now has a discontinuous range across the tropical north, the Gulf country, northern Queensland and the Pilbara. Its former range extended much further into central and southern arid Australia.

Current populations occur in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. In Western Australia, the species occurs in the Pilbara and Kimberley, including offshore islands in the north-west Kimberley. In the Northern Territory it occurs in the Top End, including Groote Eylandt, and in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Litchfield, Katherine and Pine Creek areas.

In Queensland, records extend from Cape York and the McIlwraith Range through the Gulf and western Queensland, including the Mt Isa, Cloncurry and Camooweal districts, to coastal and near-coastal areas near Rockhampton. The supplied state listing identifies South Australia as Endangered, but the sources describe South Australian occurrences as historical arid-zone records rather than a confirmed current population.

  • Relevant Australian bioregional settings include the Pilbara, Kimberley, Top End savannas, Gulf country, Cape York, Wet Tropics, central Queensland coast and inland Queensland rocky or karst areas.
  • The species was recorded in 37 of Australia's 85 bioregions and is reported extinct in 12 bioregions.

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

Known strongholds include large mine-adit colonies in the Pilbara, major cave and mine colonies around Pine Creek in the Northern Territory, Kimberley rocky and island habitats, and isolated Queensland colonies at Mount Etna, Cape York, Camooweal, Cape Hillsborough and other coastal or inland sites.

Populations are genetically structured. Pilbara, southern Queensland and Kimberley populations are strongly differentiated, and movement between some southern populations is unlikely. Female philopatry is high, while male movements provide gene flow within some regions.

Distribution: Population size and trend

There is no precise abundance estimate for the whole range because colonies are difficult to count consistently and detectability changes with season and disturbance. Available assessments indicate fewer than 10,000 individuals nationally or globally, with declines documented in several Queensland colonies and a projected continuing decline across the species.

Estimated total population: Less than 10,000 individuals; earlier estimates included 4,000 to 6,000 in Australia and 7,000 to 9,000 globally.

Pilbara estimate: Approximately 1,850 individuals in recent assessment, including about 350 in the Hamersley Range and 1,500 in the eastern Pilbara.

Northern Territory estimate: Approximately 2,500 to 3,500 individuals.

Queensland estimate: Fewer than 1,000 individuals in four to five highly disjunct localities.

Kimberley estimate: About 3,000 to 4,000 individuals inferred in an earlier assessment.

Documented trend: A projected decline of more than 10% over 24 years, equivalent to three generations, with particularly strong declines reported in parts of Queensland.

Habitat: Regional habitat settings

Ghost bats occupy tropical savanna, open woodland, rainforest, vine scrub, rocky semi-arid country and arid Pilbara habitats. The distribution is shaped less by vegetation alone than by the availability of suitable deep, humid and temperature-stable roosts and nearby prey.

The species occurs from rainforest, monsoon forest and vine scrub to open eucalypt woodland, rocky gorge systems, coastal hinterland and semi-desert country. In the Kimberley it uses rocky sandstone and limestone areas, including islands with riparian vegetation. In the Pilbara it is associated with gorges, gullies, ironstone formations, granite rockpiles, mine workings and nearby watercourses.

Fossil evidence shows a former range across much of Australia except Victoria and Tasmania. The range contracted northwards as the interior became drier, and the species now persists in arid regions where subterranean roosts provide suitable microclimates.

Habitat: Features to retain

Retain deep caves, mine adits, rock crevices, gorges, cliff lines, fissures, overhangs, rocky gullies and connected foraging areas. In the Pilbara, high-quality roost features occur in Brockman and Marra Mamba banded iron formations, Robe Pisolite channel iron deposits and granite rockpiles.

Foraging habitat may include eucalypt woodland, riparian vegetation, vine scrub, open ground, gullies and watercourses. The species is likely to be sensitive to clearing that reduces prey availability around roosts, even when the roost entrance itself is not removed.

Roost temperature: Usually about 23 to 28 degrees Celsius, with a narrower preferred range of about 23 to 26 degrees reported for a central Queensland colony.

Roost relative humidity: About 50 to 100 percent in general accounts; 50 to 90 percent in Queensland survey guidance.

Typical roost ceiling: At least 1.5 m high and usually more than 2 m above the floor in suitable natural chambers.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The ghost bat is a high-order nocturnal predator that hunts from perches, gleans prey from surfaces and catches flying prey in the air. It uses both vegetation and ground-level habitat, so clearing can affect feeding areas even where roosts are retained.

The diet includes large insects, birds, frogs, reptiles, small mammals and other bats. Diet changes with local availability and season. In northern Australia, birds may form a large part of the diet. In central Queensland, large beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers and other insects are important in warmer months, while bird and mammal remains become more common as conditions cool.

  • Retain habitat supporting large insects, including flowering or fruiting vegetation and areas with ground litter and natural shelter for invertebrates.
  • Retain woodland, riparian vegetation, rocky gullies and watercourses that support birds, frogs, reptiles, rodents and other bats.

Foraging habitat: Hunting behaviour and range

Ghost bats perch in vegetation or on rock and make short attacks on prey on the ground or in the air. They also glean surfaces while flying and may intercept smaller bats near cave entrances. Earlier tracking found that individuals returned to the same foraging areas on successive nights, although more recent Pilbara work shows regular movement between several roosts and wider commuting flights.

Foraging areas are not exclusive. Several individuals may use the same area, and one tracked area was used by 20 bats.

Earlier mean foraging area: 61 ha, centred on average 1.9 km from the day roost.

Recent mean distance from roost: 8.5 km in Pilbara GPS tracking.

Maximum recorded single-night movement: 36 km for a male and 27 km for a female in Pilbara tracking.

Roost-to-roost movements: Most frequent movements were between roosts up to about 10 km apart, with less frequent movements up to 45 km apart.

Average nightly foraging time: About 5.8 hours in Pilbara GPS tracking.

  • Survey gorges, gullies, watercourses, pools, rocky outcrops, cave entrances and woodland near known or potential roosts.
  • Avoid assuming that a small roost supports only the immediately surrounding cleared area, because tracked bats can commute several kilometres and occasionally much farther.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding females concentrate in a small number of warm, humid maternity roosts, although the timing of births varies with latitude. These sites can support genetically isolated subpopulations and should be treated as high sensitivity areas during project planning and field work.

Females give birth to one young. Pregnant females gather in the warmest available caves, and young may be moved between suitable chambers or nearby caves as summer conditions change. Young begin flying at about seven weeks and are generally capable of flight by late January in the central Queensland study.

Mating: During the dry season; central Queensland observations place mating around April.

Births: July to August in some Top End colonies; mid-October to late November in central Queensland and the Pilbara.

Litter size: One young.

Age at breeding: Females breed at about two to three years. Only about 40% of females bred in their second year in one Queensland study, increasing to about 93% in females aged two years or more.

Flight age: About seven weeks.

Generation time: Assumed to be 8 years.

Lifespan: Longevity in the wild is unknown; the maximum reported in captivity is 22.6 years.

Breeding habitat: Maternity habitat

Maternity roosts are usually deep, dark caves or disused mines with stable temperature and humidity. Suitable chambers are often elevated above the entrance, have a narrow entrance or internal constriction, and provide domed or flat rough ceilings where bats can grip. A cave with regular occupancy should be treated as capable of supporting reproducing females until monitoring shows otherwise.

In the Pilbara, maternity habitat may occur in natural caves in banded ironstone and channel iron deposits, granite rockpiles, and abandoned underground mines. In the Northern Territory and Queensland, important maternity sites also occur in sandstone and limestone caves and mine adits.

  • Do not clear, blast, fill, flood, seal, collapse or substantially alter a known or suspected maternity roost.
  • Avoid entering maternity roosts during pregnancy, birth and early dependence unless the work is authorised, essential and designed to minimise disturbance.
  • Assess nearby vegetation, gullies, watercourses and night flight paths as part of the breeding habitat, not only the cave entrance.

Sheltering habitat: Roost types

Ghost bats use a network of subterranean and rocky shelters rather than a single roost throughout the year. Roost importance ranges from permanent maternity colonies to occasional night refuges and feeding sites.

Day roosts include deep natural caves, cave chambers, rock crevices, gorges, overhangs and disused mine adits. In the Pilbara, many bats occur singly or in groups of fewer than 15 in natural caves, while larger abandoned mines may support colonies of 100 to 600 or more.

Permanent or regularly occupied maternity and diurnal roosts are generally deep and dark, with a stable warm and humid chamber. Less developed caves may be used periodically, and shallow caves, shelters and overhangs may be used opportunistically for resting or feeding.

Permanent or regular roost depth: Documented natural caves range from about 20 m to more than 500 m deep, although depth alone does not determine suitability.

Roost colony size: Pilbara natural cave groups are often fewer than 15; large mine or cave colonies may contain 100 to 600 or more.

Roost ceiling height: Usually more than 2 m above the floor in suitable deep chambers.

  • Map all caves, fissures, gorges, mine entrances, adits, rock shelters, overhangs and deep cracks before clearing or construction.
  • Treat adjacent groups of caves as a connected roost network where bats move between features over a season or year.
  • Do not assume that a cave is unused because bats are absent during one inspection.

Sheltering habitat: Disturbance sensitivity

Ghost bats are easily disturbed at roosts. Adults may rapidly leave, dislodging young, and young may fail to return to the roost. Repeated human visitation, cave surveys, drilling, blasting, helicopters, traffic, vibration, noise, artificial lighting and mine reworking can reduce use or cause abandonment.

Roost searches should be quiet, involve as few people as possible and avoid removing rubble or altering the cave. Counts can be unreliable because bats may avoid detection or leave when approached.

  • Use remote cameras, thermal monitoring, acoustic detectors and scat DNA where these methods can answer the question without entering the roost.
  • Keep workers, vehicles, lighting, drilling and blasting away from known or suspected roosts, with buffers determined by site-specific assessment and specialist advice.
  • Replace barbed wire near roosts with single-strand wire where practicable, because bats fly at about fence height and can become entangled.

Threats: Clearing, mining and infrastructure

The main project risks are loss or disturbance of roosts, deterioration of mine workings, and loss of nearby foraging habitat. These risks are amplified because breeding females concentrate in few sites and regional populations are genetically isolated.

Open-cut mining, clearing, blasting, drilling, road construction and infrastructure can destroy caves, mine adits, rock crevices and nearby foraging habitat. In the Pilbara, maternity roosts occur in ironstone areas that overlap with mining proposals, and many old underground mine roosts are collapsing, flooding or being reworked.

Clearing can also reduce prey supply, remove flight paths and sever access between roosts and feeding areas. Loss of a breeding site can reduce the area occupied by a genetically distinct subpopulation.

  • Complete a desktop and field search for caves, mines, gorges, fissures, rockpiles and likely roost networks before finalising the project footprint.
  • Assess direct loss, vibration, noise, lighting, dust, hydrology change and increased human access around every known or suspected roost.
  • Include environmental assessment and mitigation measures for exploration and construction activities near roosts, not only production mining.

Threats: Disturbance and roost deterioration

Unregulated visitation, cave entry, surveys, helicopters and other activity near roost entrances can cause adults to abandon sites or dislodge young. Mine adits may collapse, flood or become contaminated with mining residues. Sealing or modifying an entrance can change the temperature, humidity and airflow needed by the colony.

  • Restrict public and worker access to sensitive caves and mines, especially during pregnancy, births and the period when young are flightless.
  • Do not enter, trap across or block a cave or mine entrance without a species-specific plan and appropriate approvals.
  • Monitor known colonies where mining or other disturbance is occurring or likely to occur.

Threats: Fences, predators, disease and hydrology

Barbed wire fences can kill ghost bats in substantial numbers because the species often flies at fence height. Introduced predators such as feral cats and cane toads may affect populations or prey availability, although the evidence and mechanism vary among regions. A possible herpes-type virus has been reported at Mount Etna but has not been confirmed.

Water seepage, flooding and altered drainage can make normal day roosts unsuitable and force bats into poorer shelters. Mining residue at old mine roosts is also a potential source of contamination.

  • Replace or modify barbed wire close to roosts and known flight paths with safer single-strand fencing where practicable.
  • Prevent drainage, seepage, dewatering or flooding changes from altering the humidity and temperature of subterranean roosts.
  • Use appropriate hygiene, quarantine and wildlife health procedures when handling bats or working between colonies.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop and habitat assessment

Ghost bats are difficult to detect away from roosts and are highly sensitive to disturbance at caves and mines. Surveys should locate roosts, identify seasonal use and assess nearby foraging habitat without flushing bats or dislodging young.

Before fieldwork, map caves, mine adits, rock crevices, gorges, gullies, overhangs, watercourses and rocky outcrops within and near the project area.

Inspect geological maps, aerial imagery, mining records and existing fauna records, and seek local information on known roosts.

Treat deep, dark caves and mine adits with stable, humid conditions as potential maternity or diurnal roosts, particularly where there is an elevated chamber or a narrow entrance.

Record potential foraging habitat, including gorges, gullies, watercourses, pools and native woodland near roosts.

Typical permanent roost microclimate: Approximately 23 to 28 degrees Celsius and 50 to 100 per cent relative humidity

Typical foraging area in one study: Mean 61 hectares, centred approximately 1.9 kilometres from the day roost

Known range: Disjunct populations in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland

Survey methodology: 2. Evening active monitoring

Walk representative transects from dusk for at least two hours, using a hand-held bat detector and spotlight.

Distribute transects across major habitat types and include gorges, gullies, watercourses, cave entrances, mine entrances, rock shelters, overhangs and pools.

Keep GPS tracks and record the date, start and finish times, weather, transect length, habitat and equipment settings.

Use the detector at high sensitivity and obtain recordings for independent verification, because ghost bat calls are low intensity and are usually detected only when the bat is within approximately 5 to 7 metres of the microphone.

Use experienced call analysts for confirmation, because ghost bat calls can be confused with some Taphozous calls and cave-insect sounds.

Note the large, pale bat, joined ears, distinctive flight and audible chirps, but do not rely on an unconfirmed visual observation alone.

Minimum active monitoring effort: 8 detector hours per 100 hectares over at least 4 nights

Recommended seasonal window: September to April, when bats are more likely to be aggregated

Additional seasonal coverage: Repeat surveys from June to August where no maternity roost is present in or near the project area

Survey methodology: 3. Roost and emergence surveys

Search potential caves and mine adits from outside first, and keep the number of people entering a roost to the minimum needed.

Look for bats, fresh droppings, prey remains, food middens and audible chirps, while recognising that bats may remain quiet or fly out in daylight to avoid people.

Have one observer remain outside while another person conducts any necessary internal search, so that emerging bats are detected and disturbance is limited.

Monitor the most prospective roosts for emergence at dusk or return at dawn, using non-invasive observation, thermal equipment or remote acoustic monitoring where available.

Do not enter, spotlight or inspect a roost repeatedly if doing so causes bats to flush, young to become dislodged or the colony to abandon the site.

Minimum roost search effort: 2 hours per survey day

Roost evidence: Droppings are approximately 15 millimetres by 4 millimetres and may occur in mounds below favoured roosts

Roost types: Deep natural caves, rock crevices and disused mine adits

Survey methodology: 4. Capture and survey controls

Use harp traps or mist nets only where a qualified person has assessed that capture will not harm bats or cause them to leave a suitable roost.

Place traps across likely flyways, including tracks, watercourses and gullies, and do not place nets across cave or mine entrances unless the number of bats inside is known and small.

Leave harp traps set for the full night, check them at least twice when lactating females are present or during cold or wet conditions, and close mist nets whenever they are unattended.

Use only trained and vaccinated personnel to handle bats, because Australian bat lyssavirus is a zoonotic risk.

Avoid capture during late October to March where females may be pregnant, carrying young or nursing, unless the work is authorised and the method has been assessed as safe.

Release captured bats close to the capture point while it is dark, unless a wildlife veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer directs otherwise.

Minimum harp trap effort: 8 trap nights per 100 hectares over at least 4 nights

Minimum mist-net effort: 8 mist-net hours per 100 hectares over at least 4 nights, where mist nets are used

Breeding sensitivity: Female bats may be heavily pregnant, carry young or nurse crèched young from late October to March

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

Use the minimum effort as a starting point and increase it where habitat is suitable, roosts are nearby, access is limited or initial results indicate ghost bat activity.

Report every confirmed record, roost, suspected maternity site, carcass and injury to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and the project regulator where required.

Provide coordinates, date, time, method, effort, habitat, roost category, colony estimate, photographs or recordings and the name and qualifications of the observer.

Retain raw acoustic files, GPS tracks, trap logs, handling records, weather data and photographs with the project environmental records.

Report negative results with the area searched, nights and hours completed, equipment used and limitations, rather than reporting only that the species was not detected.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan works around the ghost bat's dependence on a small number of suitable roosts and its sensitivity to noise, vibration, visitation and changes to cave conditions. Avoiding a roost and its supporting habitat is preferable to attempting to replace it.

  • Retain all known and suspected maternity and permanent diurnal roosts, including deep caves, suitable mine adits, rock crevices and associated rock formations.
  • Avoid open-cut mining, blasting, collapse, flooding, drainage changes, sealing or reworking of a roost or nearby area that could alter its temperature, humidity, access or structural stability.
  • Retain nearby native vegetation, gorges, gullies, watercourses, pools and other foraging areas used by bats commuting from the roost.
  • Maintain connected roost options and movement routes between caves, mine workings, rock shelters and foraging areas, especially where local populations are isolated.
  • Remove or replace barbed wire near known roosts with single-strand wire where practicable, because ghost bats fly at about fence height and can be killed by collisions.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project controls

National listing: Vulnerable under the EPBC Act

State listings identified in the supplied profile: Near Threatened in the Northern Territory, Endangered in Queensland and South Australia, and Vulnerable in Western Australia

  • Check the current EPBC Act status before works because the ghost bat is listed as Vulnerable nationally and significant impacts may require referral or approval.
  • Check state or territory threatened fauna legislation, survey licences, scientific permits, animal ethics requirements and wildlife rehabilitation arrangements before capture, handling, roost entry or relocation.
  • Obtain specialist advice where works may affect a cave, mine adit, maternity site, colony, roost microclimate or access to foraging habitat.
  • Include the species in the project fauna management plan, environmental management plan, clearing permit conditions and construction induction.

Before habitat disturbance: Timing and staging

  • Schedule noisy, vibrating or intrusive works away from periods when females are pregnant, carrying young or nursing, particularly late October to March in southern populations.
  • Use local breeding information because parturition is earlier in the Northern Territory, from about July to August, and later in central Queensland and the Pilbara, from about October to November.
  • Stage clearing and construction so that retained roosts and nearby foraging habitat remain available before other habitat is removed.
  • Establish exclusion zones and alternative access routes before machinery arrives, and suspend works if pre-clearance checks identify an occupied or suspected maternity roost.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a targeted pre-clearance inspection of all caves, mine adits, rock crevices, overhangs, gorges and likely roost structures within the disturbance footprint and adjoining buffer area.
  • Mark no-go roosts, potential roosts, rockpiles, mine entrances, flight paths and foraging habitat on construction plans and in the field.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not block bat access to retained roosts, trap bats or create a collision hazard.
  • Brief operators and fauna spotter catchers on the species' appearance, low-intensity calls, roost evidence, stop-work triggers and the location of all exclusion zones.
  • Do not enter a cave or mine solely to obtain a better count if remote observation or emergence monitoring can answer the management question.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Ghost bats may be harmed by direct clearing, loss of roost structure, noise, vibration, human entry and fencing. Controls must remain active throughout each shift, not only during the initial pre-clearance inspection.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, cave and mine barriers and access controls before work starts each day.
  • Keep plant, lighting, generators, blasting, drilling and vehicle movements outside approved roost buffers and do not stockpile spoil, water or waste against a roost feature.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher to walk the active clearing edge ahead of machinery and to watch retained caves, mine entrances, rock faces and flight paths during noisy work.
  • Allow the spotter catcher to direct machinery to stop, reverse or change sequence when a bat, occupied roost, carcass or unassessed habitat feature is found.
  • Keep night lighting away from roost entrances and avoid directing lights into caves, mine adits or known flight paths.
  • Do not permit workers, visitors or survey teams to enter a roost without the required approval and a species-specific disturbance control plan.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Do not demolish, collapse, seal, flood or modify a cave, mine adit, rock crevice or overhang until its use by ghost bats has been assessed and the action is authorised.
  • Treat fresh droppings, prey remains, food middens, audible chirps, bat observations or repeated acoustic detections as evidence requiring ecological review before the feature is disturbed.
  • Retain rockpiles, rocky gullies and native vegetation around retained roosts unless removal is approved after assessing effects on access, shelter and foraging.
  • Do not relocate rocks, logs or other ground features into a cave entrance, mine adit or flight path, and do not use generic hollow-tree or nest-box procedures as a substitute for protecting ghost bat roosts.
  • Keep sediment, dust, chemicals, contaminated water and mining residue away from roost entrances, underground workings, pools and nearby foraging habitat.
  • Do not install artificial roosts as a routine replacement; assess them only as a last resort and with specialist advice.

During habitat disturbance: If a ghost bat is found

  • Stop the immediate task and keep people, vehicles, dogs and machinery away from the bat and its escape route.
  • Do not chase, shine lights at, net or handle a free-flying bat unless the action is necessary, authorised and undertaken by trained, vaccinated personnel.
  • If a grounded, trapped or injured bat cannot leave safely, keep it in a quiet, dark area only under the direction of an authorised wildlife handler, veterinarian or wildlife carer.
  • Do not move a bat from a roost, cave or mine without approval and a documented relocation plan, because suitable roost microclimates are limited and disturbance can cause abandonment.
  • Send an injured bat to a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer, and record the location, condition, photographs, handling time and final outcome.
  • Release a recovered bat only when directed by the responsible wildlife professional, close to the capture location and during darkness where that is safe and lawful.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work where a bat is injured, trapped, grounded or repeatedly flushed, or where young are dislodged from a roost.
  • Stop work where a previously unrecorded cave, mine adit, rock crevice, maternity indicator, colony or fresh roost evidence is identified inside or near the disturbance area.
  • Stop work after unexpected blasting, vibration, collapse, flooding, contamination or damage affects a known or suspected roost.
  • Notify the site environmental officer and relevant regulator or wildlife authority, and obtain written ecological advice before restarting.
  • Record daily inspections, plant locations, exclusion-zone checks, sightings, acoustic detections, roost evidence, incidents, handling and corrective actions.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that retained roosts remain usable and that construction has not caused abandonment, injury or loss of access. Monitoring must be scaled to the value and sensitivity of the affected habitat.

  • Inspect all retained caves, mine adits, rock formations, access routes, fences and nearby foraging habitat after clearing and after major construction stages.
  • Check for blocked entrances, changed drainage, collapse, dust, sediment, chemical contamination, new lighting, fence hazards and evidence of human visitation.
  • Complete a dusk emergence or remote acoustic check where works occurred near a known, suspected or potential maternity roost.
  • Do not enter a roost for a post-work check if external observation, thermal monitoring or acoustic monitoring can provide the required information without disturbance.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and corrective action

Seasonal use to consider: Aggregation generally occurs from September to April, with dispersal in small groups during cooler months

Monitoring priority: Known colonies and sites affected by mining or other works should receive high-priority monitoring

  • Monitor retained roosts during the next suitable breeding and non-breeding periods, because ghost bats aggregate at maternity roosts and disperse to smaller roosts in cooler months.
  • Use consistent locations, equipment, timing and effort so changes in occupancy and activity can be compared between pre-work and post-work surveys.
  • Investigate reduced occupancy, repeated flushing, injured bats, new carcasses or altered emergence timing immediately, rather than treating the result as normal variation.
  • Repair exclusion fencing, remove new hazards, control access, reduce lighting or vibration and address drainage or contamination problems where monitoring identifies an impact.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and ongoing controls

  • Provide the regulator, land manager and project approval holder with a post-clearance report covering methods, effort, records, incidents, roost status, monitoring results and corrective actions.
  • Update the relevant state or territory wildlife database with confirmed records, roost coordinates and significant mortality or disturbance events, subject to sensitive-location controls.
  • Maintain cave and mine access restrictions, lighting controls, fence modifications, buffers and machinery exclusion zones for the life of the project approval.
  • Assess whether residual impacts require an offset, compensatory action or additional conservation measure under the EPBC Act or state approval.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore roost surroundings and foraging habitat

Rehabilitation should restore safe access to retained roosts and the native foraging habitat around them. It should not assume that a planted area or artificial structure can replace a maternity cave or stable underground microclimate.

  • Reinstate native vegetation around retained caves, mine adits, gorges, gullies and watercourses to support prey and movement between roost and foraging areas.
  • Use locally appropriate native species selected for the project region, because the supplied documents do not identify a single planting list for the species across Australia.
  • Stabilise disturbed ground without blocking cave entrances, changing underground drainage or reducing the humidity and temperature conditions of the roost.
  • Retain or reinstate natural rock features and rockpiles where they form part of the local roost network, and keep construction materials away from entrances and flight paths.
  • Do not create wetlands or permanent water points as a substitute for habitat unless a site assessment shows that the design will not alter roost conditions or attract hazards.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage artificial roosts and site hazards

  • Assess the safety and structural condition of old mine adits and modify them only where the work preserves suitable access, temperature, humidity and roost chambers.
  • Consider an artificial or modified roost only as a last resort, with specialist design, regulatory approval and a monitoring plan that demonstrates use by ghost bats.
  • Replace barbed wire near retained roosts with single-strand wire where practicable and remove redundant fencing that could entangle or kill bats.
  • Control weeds, introduced predators, feral animals, excess human access, dust, lighting and contaminated water around retained habitat.
  • Use fire planning that protects caves, mine adits, native vegetation and prey habitat, while following the applicable regional fire authority and land manager requirements.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Non-invasive monitoring option: Scat DNA can identify individual bats and movements between roosts without entering or disturbing the roost

Observed local roost use in the Pilbara: Some bats use two to three caves during survey periods, with occasional movements between roosts up to about 45 kilometres apart

  • Monitor plant establishment, weed cover, erosion, fence condition, cave access, roost microclimate and ghost bat occupancy at the frequency required by the approval.
  • Use emergence counts, passive acoustic monitoring, thermal cameras, remote cameras or non-invasive scat DNA where suitably qualified practitioners are available.
  • Set success measures before rehabilitation begins, including stable or improving roost occupancy, no new entanglement or access hazards, maintained cave entrances and recovery of native vegetation around foraging areas.
  • Compare results with pre-disturbance records and continue management where bats do not return, colony activity declines or rehabilitation creates new disturbance.
  • Report rehabilitation results and any failure to meet approval criteria to the regulator and update the management actions.

Sources