Australia’s inland water bodies have more than doubled in extent since 2019, according to new National Land Cover Account data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Dr Helen Fox, the ABS head of environmental statistics, said: ‘The National Land Cover Account, 2024 is our most detailed ever, meaning we have far better insights into the impacts of climate on land cover types.’
The ABS reports that wetter years have driven a 114.4 per cent increase in perennial (long‑term) inland water bodies and a 114.2 per cent increase in non‑perennial (short‑term) inland water bodies since 2019. ‘In 2024, long term inland water bodies were at their largest extent since 2011 and second largest overall since the data started in 1988,’ Dr Fox said. ‘Inland water bodies, such as Lake Eyre, are important to Australia because they provide habitats for our native wildlife.’
A major upgrade to the ABS systems has sharpened mapping from a 250‑metre grid down to 30 metres, revealing finer features such as smaller rivers and wetlands that were previously missed. ‘Improvements to ABS systems have enabled us to go from a resolution of 250 metres right down to 30 metres.’
Artificial surfaces — including cities, towns and other human‑made cover — continue to trend upwards, rising 105.7 per cent nationally since 1988, the ABS said. ‘While artificial surfaces make up a small part of the landscape, they have been growing in all states and territories since our records began in 1988,’ Dr Fox said. By 2024, the ABS artificial surfaces index (1988=100) had reached 330 in the Northern Territory, 280 in Queensland and 271 in Western Australia, with the Australian Capital Territory at 253, Victoria at 225 and New South Wales at 167.
Grassland remains the country’s dominant land cover, expanding 2.4 per cent since 2019 to cover 44.2 per cent of Australia in 2024, according to the ABS.
The ABS said the latest account includes revised historical data and updates to the previous release. It noted that trends between 2019 and 2024 reflect dry conditions leading up to 2019, when some classes — such as sparsely vegetated areas — saw large increases over a short period. Historical series and detailed methods are available in the National Land Cover Account, 2024 publication.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
