| AAQ NEPM | National Environment Protection Measure for Ambient Air Quality |
| AAS | Australian Academy of Science |
| ABS | Australian Bureau of Statistics |
| AC | alternating current |
| ACCC | Australian Competition and Consumer Commission |
| ACCUs | Australian Carbon Credit Units (see ) |
| ADWG | Australian Drinking Water Guidelines |
| AEMC | Australian Energy Market Commission |
| AEMO | Australian Energy Market Operator |
| AER | Australian Energy Regulator |
| AHD | Australian Height Datum |
| AI | artificial intelligence |
| AIDR | Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience |
| AIMS | Australian Institute of Marine Science |
| ALCA | Australian Land Conservation Alliance |
| APKG | Aboriginal Peoples Knowledge Group |
| ARENA | Australian Renewable Energy Agency |
| AS | Australian Standards |
| ASC NEPM | National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 |
| ASIC | Australian Securities and Investments Commission |
| ATM | Aggregate Trailer Mass |
| ATO | Australian Tax Office |
| ATSE | Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering |
| AWD | available water determination |
| BAM | Biodiversity Assessment Method |
| BBS | Brigalow Belt South |
| BCT | Biodiversity Conservation Trust |
| BFCC | NSW Bush Fire Coordinating Committee |
| BGS | Botanic Gardens of Sydney |
| BioBanking | Biodiversity Banking and Offsets Scheme |
| BITRE | Bureau for Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics |
| BoM | Bureau of Meteorology |
| BPEOM-Fish | Basin Plan Environmental Outcomes Monitoring for Fish |
| BSA | Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement |
| C&D | Construction and demolition (waste) |
| C&I | Commercial and industrial (waste) |
| CAPAD | Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database |
| CAPO | NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations |
| CAR | comprehensive, adequate and representative |
| CAUL | The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub |
| CBD | The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CCF | Climate Change Fund |
| CDS | container deposit scheme |
| CH4 | methane |
| CIS | Capacity Investment Scheme |
| CLM Act | Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 |
| CM Act | NSW Coastal Management Act 2016 |
| CM SEPP | State Environmental Planning Policy (Coastal Management) 2018 |
| CMP | Coastal Management Program |
| CO | carbon monoxide |
| CO2 | carbon dioxide |
| COP | Cobar Peneplain |
| COP15 | The 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention |
| CSIRO | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
| CWANZ | Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand |
| CWP | cold water pollution |
| DAFF | Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry |
| DC | direct current |
| DCCEEW | NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water |
| DCCEEW-Aus | Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water |
| DCS | NSW Department of Customer Service |
| DEC | NSW Department of Environment and Conservation |
| DECC | NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (formerly DEC) |
| DECCW | Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (formerly DECC) |
| DEWHA | Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |
| DHAC | Department of Health and Aged Care |
| DIWA | Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia |
| DoE | NSW Department of Education |
| DPE | Department of Planning and Environment |
| DPHI | Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure |
| DPIE | Department of Planning, Industry and Environment |
| DPIRD | Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development |
| DRP | Darling Riverine |
| eDNA | environmental DNA |
| ECL | East Coast Lows |
| EEA | European Environment Agency |
| ELA | Eco Logical Australia |
| EnergyCo | Energy Corporation of NSW |
| ENSO | El Niño – Southern Oscillation (Index) (see ) |
| EPA | NSW Environment Protection Authority |
| EPBC Act | Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 |
| ESC | Energy Security Corporation |
| ESCC | Earth Systems and Climate Change |
| ESD | ecologically sustainable development |
| ESFM | Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management |
| ESG | environmental, social and governance |
| ESS | Energy Savings Scheme |
| EVC | Electric Vehicle Council |
| EVs | electric vehicles |
| FCAI | Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries |
| FFDI | Forest Fire Danger Index |
| FM Act | Fisheries Management Act 1994 |
| FMS | fire management strategy |
| FOGO | food organics and garden organics |
| FRNSW | Fire and Rescue NSW |
| GBF | Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework |
| GCCSA | Greater Capital City Statistical Area (see ) |
| GDE | groundwater-dependent ecosystem (see ) |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GIS | Geographic Information System |
| GMR | Greater Metropolitan Region (see ) |
| GSP | gross state product (see ) |
| GVA | gross value added |
| GVM | Gross Vehicle Mass |
| GWP | global warming potential |
| HEI | Health Effects Institute |
| IBRA | Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia |
| IChEMS | Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard |
| IEA | International Energy Agency |
| IFOA | Integrated Forestry Operations Approval |
| IGCC | Investor Group on Climate Change |
| IIO Report | Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report |
| IMOS | Integrated Marine Observing System |
| IOD | Indian Ocean Dipole |
| IPA | Indigenous Protected Area |
| IPART | Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (see ) |
| IUCN | International Union for the Conservation of Nature |
| KTP | key threatening process (see ) |
| Landsat | Land and Earth Observation Satellite |
| LAT | Lowest Astronomic Tide |
| LBL | load-based licensing |
| LCV | light commercial vehicle |
| LGA | local government area |
| LHIB | Lord Howe Island Board |
| LiDAR | Light Detection and Ranging |
| LLS | Local Land Services |
| LNAPL | light non-aqueous-phase liquid |
| LSC | land and soil capability |
| LTAAEL | long-term average annual extraction limits (see ) |
| LULUCF | land use, land use change and forestry (see ) |
| LWU | local water utility |
| MAC | microbial assessment category |
| MDB | Murray–Darling Basin |
| MDBA | Murray–Darling Basin Authority |
| MEMA | NSW Marine Estate Management Authority |
| MER | monitoring, evaluation and reporting |
| MLDRIN | The Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations |
| MSW | municipal solid waste |
| NABERS | National Australian Built Environment Rating System |
| NARCliM | NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling (see ) |
| NATA | National Association of Testing Authorities |
| NCEI | National Centers for Environmental Information |
| NEAP | NSW Estuary Asset Protection |
| NEM | National Electricity Market |
| NEPC | National Environment Protection Council |
| NEPM | National Environment Protection Measure |
| NGOs | non-government organisations |
| NHMRC | National Health and Medical Research Council |
| NIAA | National Indigenous Australians Agency |
| NLWRA | National Land and Water Resources Audit |
| N2O | nitrous oxide |
| NO2 | nitrogen dioxide |
| NO | oxides of nitrogen |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| NOAA Fisheries | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine Fisheries Service |
| NOx | oxides of nitrogen (see ) |
| NPI | Nature Positive Initiative |
| NPW Act | National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 |
| NPWS | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service |
| NRC | Natural Resources Commission |
| NRM | natural resource management |
| NRS | national reserve system |
| NSS | New South Wales South Western Slopes |
| NSWRFS | NSW Rural Fire Service |
| NWQMS | National Water Quality Management Strategy |
| O3 | ozone |
| OCHRE | Opportunity, Choice, Healing, Responsibility, Empowerment |
| OCSE | Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer |
| OECC | Office of Energy and Climate Change |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| OECM | National Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures |
| OEH | Office of Environment and Heritage (formerly DECCW) |
| PAH | polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon |
| PET | polyethylene terephthalate |
| PFAS | per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances |
| PFHxS | perfluorohexane sulfonate |
| PFOA | perfluorooctanoic acid |
| PFOS | perfluorooctane sulfonate |
| PM | particulate matter |
| PM10 | particulate matter less than 10 micrometres |
| PM2.5 | particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres |
| POEO Act | Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 |
| PV | photovoltaic (solar energy) |
| PVP | property vegetation plan |
| pyroCb | pyrocumulonimbus (see ) |
| Qx | Queensland unknown |
| RA | Reconstruction Authority |
| RCP | Representative Concentration Pathway |
| REZs | Renewable Energy Zones |
| RIDonline | Report Illegal Dumping online system |
| RIS | Regulatory Impact Statement |
| RIV | Riverina |
| RSWMP | Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan |
| SAFS | Status of Australian Fish Stocks |
| SCA | state conservation area |
| SEEA | System of Environmental-Economic Accounts |
| SEED | The Central Resource for Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data in NSW |
| SEPP | State Environmental Planning Policy |
| SLATS | Statewide Landcover and Tree Study |
| SO2 | sulfur dioxide |
| SSP | Shared Socioeconomic Pathway |
| STGGI | State and Territory Greenhouse Inventories |
| SUV | sport utility vehicle |
| SVTM | NSW State Vegetation Type Map |
| TAP | threat abatement plan |
| TARA | threat and risk assessment |
| TERN | Australia's Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network |
| TfNSW | Transport for NSW |
| TISFD | Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures |
| TN | total nitrogen |
| TNFD | Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures |
| TOD | Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Program |
| TP | total phosphorous |
| TSR | Threatened Species Recovery Hub |
| TSRs | travelling stock reserves |
| TSS | total suspended solids |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNECE | United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UNFCCC | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| UPSS | underground petroleum storage system |
| VKT | vehicle kilometres travelled |
| VOC | volatile organic compound |
| WAMC | Waste Assets Management Corporation |
| WARR | Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery |
| WARRP | Waste and Resource Reporting Portal |
| WAS | NSW Water Accounting System |
| WEF | World Economic Forum |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WSAA | Water Services Association of Australia |
| XDI | Cross Dependency Initiative |
