‘Not an eligible disaster’: FOI reveals Commonwealth resisted new aid for SA after algal bloom killed 250,000 marine animals

Both Federal and South Australian Governments failed in their response to the devastating algal bloom that swept along the state’s coastline earlier this year, a senate committee investigation has found.

The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee delivered its unanimous 207-page report on Tuesday afternoon, finding there had been a lack of proper monitoring, a delay in responding to the situation and a failure to provide proper health warnings.

Committee chair, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young described the algal bloom on as “one of the worst climate induced events in our nation’s history” saying South Australia was “the canary in the coal mine” for the “worst of the climate crisis.”

“This inquiry has laid bare just how ill-prepared both the state and federal governments were for this type of ecological and economic disaster,” she said.

“South Australians should not be left to deal with the cleanup of this disaster on our own. The unanimous report from the committee has called for more coordination and support to be led by the Federal Government in the case of such climate induced events.”

Among the key recommendations was a call for the Federal Government to the creation of a $500m Marine Environment Restoration Fund, a new national framework to guide any response to climate and ecological disasters, a Job-Keeper like program to support those whose livelihoods are affected and a clear program of marine restoration.

The Federal Government resisted providing South Australia new support to address a devastating algal bloom sweeping across the state’s coastline that killed “at least” 250,000 marine animals and 400 different species by July, new documents reveal.

The findings come as new documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal how the Federal Government resisted providing additional support to South Australia as authorities attempted to work out a response.

In considering a response, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) advised on 11 July that the federal government that “algae blooms and/or heatwaves are not eligible natural disasters under the jointly funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements”, which were designed to respond to fast-moving events like bushfires, floods and earthquakes.

NEMA officials suggested that the Government could activate the Disaster Recovery Allowance [DRA] which would enable payments through the social security system to those whose livelihoods were affected for 13 weeks, but warned the amounts that could be paid were small, subject to income-tests and could not be extended further.

Officials also warned that activating the program would set a “precedent” and create an expectation that the federal government may provide additional support in the future.

“However, such an activation may be considered precedent setting by the general public and would mean DRA could potentially be called on for other agricultural, commercial or industrial accidents,” NEMA warned.

Other documents from around that time capture the federal government’s response to the unfolding crisis as pressure built for a response to the climate change-driven event.

They show NEMA’s advice shaped the government’s response, with another email dated 14 July 2025 recording that a DCCEEW division head editing talking points to soften any expectation of financial support from the federal government.

“I’ve removed a few of the comments because possibly giving too much hope we will fund,” it said. “It would be good to add in and keep using the same examples of our investments.”

Two days later, Mehdi Doroudi, CEO South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) briefed NEMA officials on 16 July where he stressed the need “for support for environmental restoration/resilience measures” and Commonwealth intervention.

“Some calculations from their environment dept suggests up to 400 diff species of aquatics affected, and 250k mortalities out of this algal bloom,” the notes record Doroudi as saying. “Major question of how to recover and rehabilitate this ecosystem, and what investment is required”.

This internal estimate was twelve-times higher than the 19,820 animals that had washed up on South Australian beaches and been identified by citizen-science project iNaturalist in August and was not publicly disclosed at the time.

The platform allows people who find dead marine life washed up on beaches – which represents a fraction of what is taking place in the ocean – to report their find so they can be catalogued and counted with 79,043 animals identified across 676 species to date.

Notes of Doroudi’s briefing were later passed to Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) officials and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Other briefing documents show the government eventually settled on a response that emphasised measures that required “no new funding” and highlighted its contribution through existing programs and actions such as making its chief scientist available to assist South Australia.

These developments come as new research from the University of Technology Sydney identified Karenia cristata as the source of brevetoxins, a neurotoxin shellfish poison that is deadly to marine life.

Though Karenia mikimotoi was initially the dominant species, Associate Professor Chris Bolch, a co-author on the study that is currently undergoing peer review, said the lethal Karenia cristata took hold during the calm winter months – the first time it has been identified in Australia.

“Its effects are just awful on the marine environment,” Boch said. “It’s been like a nuclear bomb going off across the entire area.”

“There is a very specific set of circumstances that favour the growth and dominance of these organisms. Once they can maintain dominance through other measures.”

Though the specifics had yet to be fully determined, Boch said climate change contributed but its precise effect was complex and not easily reduced to one cause or another.