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Sloane's Froglet (Crinia sloanei)

Sloane's froglet is a small, ground-dwelling myobatrachid frog of temporary and permanent wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin. It is endangered nationally and in New South Wales and Victoria, with remaining strongholds concentrated in peri-urban and rural wetland systems where clearing, altered drainage, development and loss of wetland connections can remove breeding habitat.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

Breeding season

Sloane's Froglet is mainly an autumn to spring breeder, with peak calling from June to August and breeding usually linked to winter rainfall or wetland inundation. Clearing, draining or dewatering should be planned around local rainfall, calling activity and the presence of eggs, tadpoles and metamorphs in shallow vegetated water.

Reproductive mode: Egg laying. Eggs are laid singly, sometimes in loose clumps, rather than as a surface foam mass.

Clutch size: Fewer than 30 eggs may be laid in total.

Incubation: About 10 days, with one habitat guide giving a range of 10 to 21 days.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded for Sloane's Froglet. The related Common Eastern Froglet reaches maturity at about 18 months to 2 years.

Nest or egg sites: Eggs are attached individually to submerged grass, reeds or other fine-stem vegetation, and may also be laid on the substrate at the bottom of shallow pools, usually to about 20 cm deep.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded. It is unknown whether females produce more than one clutch per year.

Confirm timing locally before works by checking rainfall, wetland inundation, water depth and calling activity, because breeding and development can shift after heavy rain and with the local hydroperiod.

  • Calling: Males may call from mid-April through spring, with peak calling from June to August. Calling can also occur after heavy summer rain.
  • Egg laying: Egg laying occurs during the autumn to spring breeding period, mainly after winter rainfall or wetland filling. Eggs are attached to submerged vegetation or laid on the bottom of shallow pools.
  • Tadpoles: Eggs hatch after about 10 days, and tadpoles may remain in water for around three months. Tadpoles from winter or spring breeding may persist from late autumn or winter through spring and into autumn, provided water remains present.
  • Metamorphs: Metamorphosis may occur from late spring to autumn after winter or spring breeding. The timing depends on when eggs are laid and whether the wetland retains water for tadpole development.
  • Active period: Species-specific activity months are not recorded. Adults move between wetlands and refuge areas when conditions are wet, including after autumn and winter rain, flooding or summer storms.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from June to October, when calling adults, eggs, tadpoles and movement links may be present. Autumn to spring works can also affect newly inundated breeding sites and connected damp refuge areas.

Identification

Adult Sloane's froglets are small and cryptic. Calling males are usually easier to detect than adults or tadpoles, particularly when surveys are conducted in shallow wetland habitat after filling rains.

Adults are 15 to 20 mm long, with a brown or brownish-grey back, often marked with darker brown or olive patterning. Males may have orange or ochre spots. The belly is white with small black spots. Feet lack webbing and toe-pads are absent.

Female throat: White.

Breeding male throat: Pale grey, with a greyish-green lower jaw.

Identification: Call and field detection

The male call is a distinctive sharp, high-pitched sound described as an ‘eahh’ or short chirp. Males usually call while floating in shallow water, including shallow inundated areas with thin-stemmed vegetation. Calling may occur during the day and at night.

The species is highly detectable when surveyed in winter after breeding habitat has filled. Adults are difficult to see and may hide quickly, so aural surveys are generally more useful than visual searches.

Recommended NSW aural survey effort: Four repeat surveys of a 500 m transect, totalling 480 minutes.

Recommended acoustic survey effort: One 14-day deployment, within a total reference effort of 154 recorder days for the survey design.

  • Search the edges and shallow inundated sections of wetlands, rather than only deeper open water.
  • Record the position of calling males and the surrounding vegetation, water depth and connected wet areas.
  • Use repeated aural surveys or acoustic recorders where the species is suspected but not detected on the first visit.

Identification: Similar species and life stages

The call is similar to those of the plains froglet, Crinia parinsignifera, and other Crinia species, so records should be confirmed by an experienced frog surveyor where calls overlap. Sloane's froglet calls from within the water, usually while floating, which helps distinguish it from sympatric Crinia species that call from different positions.

Tadpoles are light grey or brown with scattered dark flecks and are difficult to distinguish from tadpoles of Crinia signifera and C. parinsignifera. Tadpole identification alone is therefore unreliable without supporting adult or call records.

  • Treat an apparently suitable site as unconfirmed if the call is heard only briefly or within a large Crinia chorus.
  • Use call recordings, expert confirmation and site context to separate Sloane's froglet from similar Crinia species.
  • Do not rely on frog presence or absence from a single visual inspection.

Distribution: States and bioregions

Sloane's froglet is endemic to the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia. Its former range was much broader, but current records are concentrated in southern New South Wales and northern and central Victoria.

In New South Wales, records extend through central western and southern inland areas, historically from near the Queensland border south towards the Murray Valley. In Victoria, records are concentrated in north-central areas along the Murray River and nearby tributaries.

Nearly three quarters of records are from the Riverina Bioregion, with a further 18% from the NSW South Western Slopes. Other historical records occur in the Darling Riverine Plains, Cobar Peneplain, Victorian Midlands, Brigalow Belt South and Murray-Darling Depression bioregions.

  • Treat records north of Dubbo with caution because some may be misidentifications of other Crinia species.
  • The species is not known to have an established range outside Australia.

Distribution: Current strongholds

Most recent records are concentrated near Albury, Thurgoona, Howlong, Corowa, Wahgunyah and Rutherglen. Smaller, disjunct populations or records have been reported near Wangaratta, Chiltern, Little Lake Charm and Moodies Swamp near Cobram.

Ninety-five per cent of records since 2000 were from the Albury to Thurgoona, Howlong and Corowa to Wahgunyah and Rutherglen stronghold areas. The current distribution appears increasingly fragmented, and connectivity between the main Albury and Corowa to Wahgunyah populations is uncertain.

Recent distribution estimate in the consultation assessment: Extent of occurrence approximately 700 km² and area of occupancy less than 90 km², based on post-1997 records.

Earlier nomination estimate: Post-1998 extent of occurrence approximately 21,800 km², with an area of occupancy probably less than 500 km².

  • Check wetlands and connected drainage features in peri-urban and rural-residential areas, even where surrounding native vegetation is highly modified.
  • Do not assume that a developed or artificial wetland is unsuitable, because constructed ponds, farm dams and drains can support the species.

Distribution: Population size and trend

A reliable estimate of the number of mature individuals is not available. Available records indicate a marked contraction from the historical range and ongoing local decline, including local extinction from six Albury-area sites over a five-year period where recolonisation was considered unlikely.

Relative records declined strongly compared with the sympatric plains froglet, although survey effort, identification error and incomplete database entry affect interpretation.

Estimated decline in relative records: Approximately 75% over the decade to 2006 and approximately 87% between the 1994 to 2003 and 2004 to 2013 periods in one database comparison.

Historical extent of occurrence in the consultation assessment: Approximately 156,000 km², compared with approximately 700 km² in the recent assessment.

Mature population size: Unknown.

Habitat: Wetland types

Sloane's froglet uses shallow wetlands and adjoining damp ground in highly modified inland environments. It needs a mix of breeding water, dry-period refuge and wet connections between sites.

Habitat includes temporary and permanent ponds, farm dams, natural wetlands, constructed frog ponds, oxbows, gilgais, shallow depressions, roadside drains, table drains, irrigation channels and inundated grassland. It has also been recorded in slow-flowing or still sections associated with larger waterbodies.

On clay plains, gilgais and other depressions are favoured. In river valleys, sites are generally within about 8 km of large rivers.

Typical breeding water depth: Up to about 20 cm in the consultation assessment; calling males have been recorded in 1 to 31 cm of water, with 50% in less than 5 cm and 80% in less than 8 cm.

River-valley association: Generally within about 8 km of large rivers.

  • Retain shallow wetland margins and overflow areas, not just the permanent open-water portion of a wetland.
  • Assess both natural and constructed waterbodies where they contain suitable shallow vegetation.
  • Avoid treating drains as low-value habitat without checking for calling frogs and connected wet areas.

Habitat: Vegetation and wetland structure

Occupied wetlands commonly contain medium-height grasses, sedges and small-stem emergent vegetation, including common spikerush, Eleocharis acuta, common couch, Cynodon dactylon, Carex, Juncus, Paspalum, Poa, Potamogeton and Myriophyllum. Eggs are attached singly to submerged stems.

Calling sites generally have inundated vegetation, shallow water, moderate vegetation cover and little bare ground on the bank. The 2024 habitat study found that occupancy was strongly associated with an adjacent ephemeral shallow overflow and with greater cover of small-stem emergent vegetation.

Emergent vegetation height in the interim habitat guide: Average maximum height about 42 cm at calling sites.

Vegetation cover at calling sites: Moderate cover, generally 30% to 70%.

Waterbody occupancy association: A waterbody was reported as 450 times more likely to be occupied when an adjacent ephemeral shallow overflow was present.

  • Retain or create gently sloping shallow margins with small-stem emergent vegetation.
  • Maintain adjacent shallow overflow areas and wet depressions where they form part of the wetland system.
  • Avoid replacing shallow grassy margins with steep, bare-sided or concreted ponds.
  • Keep some open sunlight over breeding margins; extensive shading is not typical of many occupied Albury wetlands.

Habitat: Vegetation communities and climate

Relevant native communities include Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands of the Temperate Lowland Plains, White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland, and Grey Box Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of south-eastern Australia. These communities are nationally threatened.

The species occurs in the variable inland climate of the Murray-Darling Basin. Its habitat is strongly affected by the timing and duration of autumn to spring rainfall, flooding and wetland drying. A specific elevation limit is not provided in the source material.

Elevation limit: Not specified in the available sources.

Hydrological setting: Autumn to spring inundation is important for breeding and movement between wetlands.

Foraging habitat: Adults

Direct information on feeding range and prey composition is limited. The available evidence supports protection of shallow wetland vegetation, sediments and connected damp areas used by adults and tadpoles.

Adults are insectivorous. The documents do not provide a prey list, feeding radius or measured nightly movement distance. Adults should therefore be treated as using the wetland edge, emergent vegetation and adjoining ground cover within the wetland system rather than only the open-water area.

  • Retain insect-producing ground cover and small-stem vegetation around occupied wetlands.
  • Avoid pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser drift into wetlands and adjoining damp habitat.
  • Keep wetland margins connected to nearby refuge areas used during dry periods.

Foraging habitat: Tadpoles

Tadpoles are bottom-dwelling and are thought to feed on fine particles and algae in sediments and on vegetation. They may therefore be affected by sediment disturbance, loss of submerged vegetation, toxic contamination and premature drying during development.

  • Prevent excessive sediment entry and chemical contamination during earthworks near occupied wetlands.
  • Keep shallow water and submerged or emergent vegetation available through the tadpole development period.
  • Do not assume that clear open water without vegetation provides suitable feeding habitat.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is associated with shallow, still or very slow water containing submerged or emergent fine-stem vegetation. Successful recruitment depends on the wetland remaining inundated long enough for eggs to hatch and tadpoles to metamorphose.

Males call from shallow water, often while floating among inundated grasses or small-stem reeds. Females lay eggs singly, usually attached to submerged vegetation rather than in a surface foam mass. Some eggs may be laid on the substrate in shallow water.

Breeding has been observed in winter and spring, with local observations indicating that inundation from mid to late autumn can support winter breeding. Hatching and metamorphosis depend on water remaining present through the tadpole period.

Breeding and peak calling: Calling peaks from June to August; calling has also been recorded from mid-April through spring and after heavy summer rain.

Clutch size: Fewer than 30 eggs may be laid in total; whether females produce more than one clutch per year is unknown.

Egg size: About 3 to 3.5 mm.

Incubation or hatching: Eggs hatch about 10 days after laying in the consultation assessment, or 10 to 21 days in the interim habitat guide.

Tadpole development: Metamorphosis may occur from late spring to autumn; captive tadpoles took about 11 weeks from hatching to metamorphosis.

Age at maturity: Unknown; a related species reaches sexual maturity at about 18 months to 2 years.

Lifespan: Unknown; generation length is estimated at 18 months to 3 years.

Breeding habitat: Breeding-site requirements

Preferred sites are shallow natural or constructed pools with emergent grasses, sedges or small-stem reeds. Occupied wetlands range from tiny depressions of less than 1 m² to wetlands of about 200 ha, but breeding use depends on the shallow vegetated margin and suitable hydroperiod rather than total wetland area.

The interim guide indicates that water should remain from mid to late autumn through winter and into late spring or early summer. At least about three months of water after a winter breeding event may be needed for tadpoles to reach metamorphosis.

Large-population wetland vegetation area: Sites supporting more than 100 calling males had at least about 3,000 m² of vegetated water in the interim guide; the average was about 7,600 m².

Small-population wetland vegetation area: Some smaller populations used ponds with an average of about 1,300 m² of aquatic vegetation within a larger pond.

  • Retain shallow water less than about 8 cm deep at a substantial proportion of calling margins, while maintaining deeper water elsewhere for refuge.
  • Maintain gently sloping margins, small-stem emergent vegetation and adjacent ephemeral overflows.
  • Avoid filling, draining, desilting or reshaping occupied wetlands during the breeding and tadpole period.
  • Design replacement or constructed wetlands as connected systems, not isolated ponds.

Sheltering habitat: Dry-period and non-breeding refuge

Specific dry-period refuge requirements have not been studied in detail. Evidence indicates that Sloane's froglet uses deeper or permanent water, dry wetland beds, clay cracks, vegetated banks and connected damp areas outside the breeding phase.

Non-breeding habitat includes waterbodies and native or non-native vegetation, including cleared rural grazing land. During dry conditions, frogs may persist in deeper ponds, wetland depressions, dams and other water-holding areas within a connected wetland system.

Males have been observed calling from dry clay cracks and from dry wetland beds before inundation. Larger, deeper ponds may function as refuge sites even where they are not used for breeding.

Known refuge features: Deeper ponds, dams, wetland depressions, dry clay cracks, dry wetland beds and vegetated banks.

Confirmed refuge dimensions: No species-specific den, burrow, hollow or refuge-size measurement is available.

  • Retain deeper refuge ponds alongside shallow breeding areas.
  • Protect vegetated wetland margins, damp depressions, clay soils and ground cover from pugging and compaction.
  • Maintain movement routes through drains, inundated grassland and other damp or wet areas between breeding and refuge sites.
  • Avoid disturbing dry wetland beds simply because no surface water is present.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter and site management

Occupied wetlands commonly have intact ground cover around the banks, with little bare earth. Most Albury sites have little shading, and direct sunlight may support wetland productivity and egg and tadpole development. Tall trees and shrubs are not generally a required shelter feature at breeding margins.

  • Maintain at least 70% ground cover where grazing occurs, as recommended in the interim habitat guide.
  • Remove stock from occupied wetlands during egg-laying and tadpole growth in winter to early spring.
  • Avoid planting trees or shrubs in shallow inundation zones used for breeding, while retaining suitable patchy vegetation in adjoining areas.
  • Avoid slashing from mid-winter to early autumn where it would disturb breeding, dispersal or refuge habitat.

Threats: Clearing and development

The principal risks are loss and degradation of shallow wetlands, altered water regimes and isolation of wetland populations. Development sites can affect the species through direct filling or clearing, changed drainage, construction runoff, stock access, chemical contamination and loss of movement connections.

The remaining range is highly cleared, and urban and industrial development is causing ongoing habitat loss in the Albury area. Clearing can remove ponds, depressions, wetland vegetation and dry-period refuge features. It can also increase evaporation, alter runoff and isolate wetlands that formerly supported movement and recolonisation.

Peri-urban sites on rural-residential and small private holdings contain many of the remaining strongholds, so development assessment must include artificial wetlands, dams, drains and connected grassed areas.

NSW survey-guide species polygon approach: Include aquatic habitat linked to the record, a 100 m radius from the top of bank and, where relevant, vegetated corridors at least 50 m wide between waterbodies.

  • Survey all shallow wetlands, dams, drains, depressions and inundated grassland within and adjoining the development footprint.
  • Map connected breeding, refuge and movement habitat, including a buffer around wetland margins and vegetated links between waterbodies.
  • Keep earthworks, stockpiles, access tracks and compound areas outside occupied wetland margins and drainage pathways.
  • Do not clear dry wetland beds or apparently unused shallow depressions without targeted survey and ecological assessment.

Threats: Hydrology and fragmentation

River regulation, irrigation water removal, lowered water tables and altered floodplain flows can reduce wetland filling and shorten hydroperiods. Climate change is expected to increase drying, reduce flood frequency and shift rainfall towards less suitable summer events.

Fragmentation prevents recolonisation after local extinction and reduces movement between breeding and refuge sites. Roadside drains, table drains, irrigation channels and temporarily inundated grassland can be movement habitat but may also be altered or severed by infrastructure.

  • Maintain existing drainage connections where they provide slow or still water and vegetated movement habitat.
  • Design culverts, crossings and drainage works to retain shallow wet connections and avoid fast-flowing or concreted channels where practicable.
  • Stage works to avoid interrupting autumn to spring inundation and the movement of frogs between wetlands.
  • Manage construction water so that it does not rapidly drain, scour or contaminate occupied shallow wetlands.

Threats: Disease, chemicals and introduced predators

Chytrid fungus has been detected in Sloane's froglet, with 10 of 14 individuals tested from Thurgoona and Corowa in 2011 returning positive results. The population effect is uncertain, but disease spread is a recognised management concern.

Agricultural chemicals, fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides can enter adjoining wetlands or affect frog health. Gambusia, carp, trout, redfin perch and weather loach may prey on or compete with eggs and tadpoles; the specific impact on Sloane's froglet is not fully quantified.

Chytrid detection in tested frogs: 10 of 14 tested individuals from Thurgoona and Corowa were positive in 2011.

Predation susceptibility assessment: The original nomination ranked susceptibility to Gambusia in the moderate range, 14 out of 24.

  • Use amphibian hygiene procedures between wetlands, including cleaning and disinfecting footwear, nets, traps, waders, vehicles and other equipment according to current chytrid protocols.
  • Keep sediment, concrete washout, fuels, herbicides, fertilisers and other chemicals out of wetland inflows and shallow breeding areas.
  • Avoid routine herbicide spraying along occupied drains; use slashing or targeted treatment when the wetland is dry and outside sensitive periods.
  • Prevent introduced fish from entering breeding ponds and avoid transferring water, sediment or aquatic plants between wetlands.

Threats: Grazing, roads and fire

Stock can trample eggs, tadpole habitat and wetland margins, cause pugging, reduce ground cover and degrade water quality. The documents do not identify fire as a primary species-specific threat, but fire, slashing and construction disturbance can remove wetland-edge cover or alter soil and drainage conditions.

Roads and drains can fragment wetland systems, introduce contaminated runoff and create direct risks during construction. The available documents do not provide a measured road mortality rate.

Road mortality data: No species-specific road mortality rate is provided in the available documents.

Fire response data: No species-specific fire response or fire interval is provided in the available documents.

  • Fence or otherwise exclude stock from occupied wetlands during winter and early spring, and provide alternative stock water.
  • Maintain at least 70% ground cover where grazing is retained.
  • Plan vehicle access and clearing to avoid wetland margins, shallow overflow areas and vegetated connections.
  • Use current amphibian hygiene and salvage procedures if frogs are encountered during works; obtain approvals before handling or relocating animals.
  • Do not infer that a recently dry site is safe to clear, because frogs may remain in dry wetland beds, cracks or nearby refuge habitat.

Survey methodology: 1. Aural and visual transects

Survey Sloane’s Froglet, Crinia sloanei, by listening for its distinctive male call and confirming habitat use during the winter breeding period. Surveys must target shallow, vegetated wetlands after they have filled, because adults are cryptic and the call can be confused with other Crinia species.

Survey potential breeding habitat in July and August, after wetland-filling or flooding rains.

Walk a 500 metre transect around or through suitable breeding habitat, recording calls, visible frogs, habitat features and the location of each detection.

Complete four repeat surveys, totalling 480 minutes for each 500 metre transect.

Use experienced observers who can distinguish the sharp Sloane’s Froglet call from the similar calls of the Plains Froglet, Crinia parinsignifera, and other Crinia species.

Include still or very slow water, farm dams, shallow pools, vegetated drains, oxbows, gilgais and connected wetland areas in the search area.

Record adjoining non-breeding waterbodies and vegetated movement routes because the species moves between breeding and refuge sites.

Recommended period: July to August, after flooding rains

Transect: 500 metres of suitable breeding habitat

Repeat surveys: 4

Total effort: 480 minutes per 500 metre transect

Detection: Aural and visual, with calling males usually in shallow water

Survey methodology: 2. Acoustic recording

Deploy acoustic recorders around potential breeding habitat in July and August after flooding rains.

Use one 14 day deployment, with the guideline specifying 154 recorder days for the acoustic method at a site.

Position recorders to sample shallow vegetated waterbodies and connected wetland areas, rather than relying only on deep open water.

Review recordings for the distinctive call and have uncertain records checked by a person experienced with Sloane’s Froglet and sympatric Crinia species.

Recommended period: July to August, after flooding rains

Deployment: 1 deployment of 14 days

Guideline effort: 154 recorder days

Primary detection: Male advertisement call

Survey methodology: 3. Habitat and detection assessment

Map every wetland, drain, depression and inundated grassland within and adjoining the proposed disturbance area.

Measure or estimate water depth, wetland condition, emergent vegetation, bare ground, bank slope, hydroperiod and connections to other waterbodies.

Give particular attention to shallow water from 1 to 31 centimetres deep, with 50 per cent of measured calling sites below 5 centimetres and 80 per cent below 8 centimetres.

Search for small-stem emergent vegetation, including Common spikerush, Eleocharis acuta, couch, water couch, sedges and other grasses or reeds suitable for attaching individual eggs.

Treat a failure to detect the species as inconclusive if the survey was not undertaken in the recommended season and conditions.

Observed calling depth: 1 to 31 centimetres

Calling sites below 5 centimetres: 50 per cent

Calling sites below 8 centimetres: 80 per cent

Waterbody occupancy predictor: An adjacent ephemeral shallow overflow was associated with much higher occupancy in the 2024 study

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use the NSW threatened frog guideline effort where the project is in NSW, and document any departure from the specified four 500 metre transect surveys or 14 day acoustic deployment.
  • State the survey dates, rainfall or flooding conditions, wetland condition, observer experience, transect length, recorder deployment period, weather, call identifications and detection locations in the report.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable negative survey data to the relevant state or territory wildlife database, such as the NSW biodiversity database where applicable.
  • Retain recordings, photographs, GPS locations, habitat measurements and survey metadata with the project environmental records.
  • Seek expert verification for uncertain calls because Sloane’s Froglet can be confused with Plains Froglet and other Crinia species.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoid and minimise

Treat shallow, vegetated wetlands and the wet areas that connect them as potential Sloane’s Froglet habitat. The remaining strongholds are concentrated around Albury, Thurgoona, Howlong, Corowa, Wahgunyah and Rutherglen, but projects elsewhere in the former range should not assume absence without suitable survey evidence.

  • Avoid clearing or filling occupied wetlands, shallow depressions, gilgais, vegetated drains, oxbows and inundated grassland.
  • Retain shallow vegetated margins, emergent small-stem vegetation, adjacent ephemeral overflows and nearby refuge waterbodies.
  • Retain movement routes between breeding and non-breeding waterbodies, including vegetated areas and slow drainage paths.
  • Apply the NSW survey guide’s species polygon approach where relevant by including aquatic habitat linked to a record, a 100 metre buffer from the top of bank and 50 metre wide connecting corridors between waterbodies.
  • Avoid changing wetland hydrology, lowering water tables, concentrating stormwater, or diverting flows that maintain shallow breeding habitat.
  • Keep construction vehicles, stock access, spoil, sediment and stored materials out of retained wetlands and their vegetated margins.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Check approvals and plan the works

  • Check the EPBC Act approval pathway because Sloane’s Froglet is nationally listed as Endangered and is a Matter of National Environmental Significance.
  • Obtain the required state or territory threatened species approvals, licences and fauna handling permissions before clearing or capture work begins.
  • Schedule wetland disturbance outside the main calling and breeding period of June to August where practicable, and avoid disturbing inundated habitat when breeding is occurring.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey effort, no-go areas, buffers, daily inspection requirements, handling authority, relocation sites, injury response and stop-work triggers.
  • Stage works so that retained wetlands and connecting habitat remain available while each work area is cleared and stabilised.
  • Consult the relevant land managers, threatened species officers and local species experts where records, uncertain identifications or complex wetland connections are present.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Prepare the site

  • Complete the required pre-clearance survey during suitable winter conditions and after wetland-filling rains.
  • Mark retained wetlands, shallow overflows, vegetated drains, movement corridors, exclusion zones and machinery access routes before works start.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent entry into retained wetland habitat, while maintaining safe movement routes between retained waterbodies.
  • Keep fencing, trenches and access tracks from creating barriers, pitfall traps or concentrated flows between wetland areas.
  • Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the species’ small size, ground-dwelling behaviour, shallow-water habitat and call-based detection.
  • Inspect proposed disturbance areas immediately before work if rain has inundated previously dry depressions or created temporary shallow habitat.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Daily work controls

Use daily controls that prevent machinery, sediment and people from entering retained wetland habitat. The fauna spotter catcher should work as part of the control system, not as a substitute for avoiding and protecting habitat.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, wetland buffers, drains, trenches and access routes at the start of each shift and after rain.
  • Keep machinery within approved limits of disturbance and prevent entry into marked wetlands, shallow depressions, vegetated drains and connecting corridors.
  • Prevent sediment, concrete washout, fuel, herbicide, fertiliser and other contaminants from entering wetlands or drainage lines.
  • Do not routinely spray herbicide in or beside retained wetland habitat, and do not use herbicide in wet areas unless the approved management plan specifically allows it.
  • Avoid slashing or mowing retained wetland margins and drains during the main breeding and dispersal period from mid-winter to early autumn.
  • Maintain alternative access for frogs moving between wetland areas and do not block drains, inundated grassland connections or shallow overflow paths.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Spotter catcher and machinery interface

  • Require the fauna spotter catcher to inspect the active work area, wet edges, vegetation, machinery path and any temporary excavation before machinery enters.
  • Use slow, controlled clearing in habitat that cannot be retained, with the spotter catcher positioned where the operator can stop immediately on instruction.
  • Keep the spotter catcher in radio or direct communication with the operator and establish a clear stop-work signal before each shift.
  • Do not rely on visual searches alone because adults are small, cryptic and best detected by their call.
  • Do not permit untrained workers to catch, handle or relocate frogs.
  • Record the location, time, habitat, weather, action taken and final outcome for every Sloane’s Froglet observation or capture.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Animal found, injury and stop-work response

  • Stop work in the immediate area if a Sloane’s Froglet is found in the active work zone, in machinery, in a trench or in material being moved.
  • Have only an appropriately authorised fauna handler capture and handle the frog, using clean equipment and hygiene procedures that minimise chytrid transmission.
  • Keep handling brief and place the frog in nearby retained, suitable habitat identified in the fauna management plan, unless the approval or wildlife authority requires another action.
  • Do not move the frog to an unapproved site, another catchment or a different population.
  • If the frog is injured, contain it in a clean, secure and suitable container and arrange prompt assessment by an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • Stop work and obtain advice if more than one frog is found, breeding activity is observed, a previously unmapped wetland is encountered, or the approved habitat limits cannot be maintained.
  • Resume work only after the fauna handler and project environmental officer have confirmed that the animal has been protected and the control measures are effective.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Habitat features and hygiene

  • Protect shallow water, emergent grasses and reeds, wetland edges, drains, oxbows, gilgais and inundated grassland as the relevant habitat features for this species.
  • Do not remove logs, rocks or other dry refuge features beside retained wetlands unless they are within the approved disturbance footprint and the fauna management plan addresses them.
  • Keep soil, plant material, water and equipment from one wetland from being transferred to another without suitable hygiene controls.
  • Follow chytrid hygiene protocols between wetlands, particularly where frogs, wet vegetation, mud or water have been contacted.
  • Treat trenches, pits and stockpiles as fauna hazards, inspect them at least daily and provide a safe escape route or cover them when unattended.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Post-clearance checks

Completion of clearing does not remove the risk to a small, fragmented frog population. Check the work area, maintain wetland connections and verify that retained habitat still provides shallow water and suitable vegetation.

  • Complete a fauna inspection of the cleared area, wetland edges, drains, pits, trenches, spoil piles and machinery before demobilisation.
  • Remove or make safe temporary fauna hazards, including open trenches, uncovered pits, fencing gaps and sediment barriers that trap animals.
  • Confirm that retained wetlands, shallow overflows, vegetated drains and movement corridors remain connected and free of spoil, sediment and construction materials.
  • Repair damaged exclusion fencing and keep no-go markers in place until the environmental officer confirms that the area is stable.
  • Repeat targeted aural and visual checks during the next suitable July to August survey period where habitat was disturbed or where a frog was found during works.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained and rehabilitated wetlands through at least the next suitable winter breeding period using the approved survey method and comparable effort.
  • Record calling activity, occupied waterbodies, water depth, inundation duration, emergent vegetation, bare bank condition, water quality incidents and connectivity between wetlands.
  • Report any mortality, injury, chytrid concern, unauthorised clearing, wetland filling or loss of connectivity to the project environmental officer and the relevant wildlife authority.
  • Submit confirmed records to the relevant state or territory database and retain all survey, handling, relocation and incident records with the project file.
  • Compare monitoring results with the pre-work baseline and trigger corrective action if occupied wetlands are lost, shallow habitat dries before tadpoles can metamorphose, or movement routes are blocked.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Approvals, offsets and ongoing controls

  • Complete all EPBC Act and state or territory reporting required by the project approval or permit.
  • Implement any approved offset, habitat protection, restoration or conservation payment requirement where impacts cannot be avoided or mitigated.
  • Keep weed, sediment, chemical and stock controls operating around retained wetlands after construction finishes.
  • Do not remove habitat protection fencing, wetland buffers or drainage controls until the approval holder and relevant authority agree that the controls are no longer required.
  • Update the fauna management plan when monitoring identifies new occupied sites, changed wetland use or unexpected impacts.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Reinstate suitable wetlands

Rehabilitation should recreate a connected system of shallow, vegetated wetlands rather than a single deep open pond. Design and maintenance must reflect the species’ use of small waterbodies, shallow inundated vegetation and seasonal wetting and drying.

Observed calling depth: 1 to 31 centimetres

Minimum vegetated water associated with larger populations: 3,000 square metres

Average vegetated water at larger sites: 7,600 square metres

Water retention after winter breeding: At least 3 months, preferably through late spring or early summer

  • Create or restore shallow, gently sloping wetland margins with still or very slow water and emergent small-stem vegetation.
  • Provide shallow areas in the observed calling range of 1 to 31 centimetres, while recognising that 50 per cent of recorded calling sites were below 5 centimetres and 80 per cent were below 8 centimetres.
  • Design wetlands with adjacent ephemeral shallow overflows because the 2024 habitat study found much higher occupancy where this feature was present.
  • Aim for a wetland system that retains water from mid to late autumn through winter and into late spring or early summer after a winter breeding event.
  • Where a larger population is intended, provide at least 3,000 square metres of vegetated water and retain a mix of shallow and deeper areas; sites supporting larger numbers averaged 7,600 square metres of vegetated water.
  • Use gently sloping banks and avoid steep, bare-sided stormwater ponds.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Plant and retain habitat structure

  • Establish or retain Common spikerush, Eleocharis acuta, couch, water couch, sedges, Carex species, rushes and other suitable small-stem emergent grasses and aquatic plants.
  • Target moderate emergent vegetation cover, with observed calling habitat averaging about 42 centimetres of emergent height and 30 to 70 per cent vegetation cover.
  • Keep a mostly open, sunny wetland margin where appropriate, because many occupied Albury wetlands had less than 5 per cent canopy cover.
  • Avoid planting dense trees or shrubs in shallow seasonal inundation zones used for breeding.
  • Retain dry refuge features, including undisturbed wetland banks and suitable logs or other cover near the wetland, where these do not interfere with approved wetland design.
  • Use patchy revegetation on dam and slow-water edges so that shallow water, sunlight and small-stem vegetation remain available.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Restore connectivity and control threats

Ground cover target where grazing continues: At least 70 per cent

Connecting corridor in the NSW survey guide: At least 50 metres wide

  • Connect breeding wetlands with vegetated drains, shallow overflow paths, inundated grassland and other movement habitat.
  • Maintain at least 50 metre wide vegetated connecting corridors where the NSW species polygon approach applies.
  • Exclude or control Gambusia, carp, redfin perch, trout and other introduced fish where they threaten eggs or tadpoles.
  • Keep stock out of breeding wetlands during egg laying and tadpole growth, and maintain at least 70 per cent ground cover where grazing continues.
  • Control weeds without routine spraying in or beside wetland habitat, and prefer mechanical control or spot treatment when the wetland is dry and the approved plan permits it.
  • Apply chytrid hygiene procedures to all restoration, survey and maintenance equipment used between wetlands.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Monitor rehabilitation and fire risk

  • Monitor water depth, hydroperiod, vegetation structure, bare ground, overflow connection, introduced fish, stock damage and Sloane’s Froglet calling activity during the winter breeding period.
  • Use repeat surveys that match the pre-work method so changes in occupancy and detection are interpretable.
  • Set success measures around retained or restored shallow vegetated habitat, wetland connection, water persistence for tadpole development, absence of construction impacts and confirmed frog use.
  • Review the design adaptively if ponds dry too quickly, become dominated by large-stem reeds, lose shallow vegetation or remain disconnected from other wetlands.
  • The supplied species documents do not provide a species-specific fire regime, so obtain local ecological fire advice and prevent fire planning, slashing or fuel treatment from removing wetland-edge refuge or breeding vegetation during the breeding and dispersal period.
  • Record rehabilitation outcomes and submit new confirmed records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.

Sources