Indicator guide
What are indicators?
NSW State of the Environment 2024 assesses the status and trends of each of 77 environmental indicators, along with the reliability of the information used to provide an indicator rating. See Table IG.1 for an example of a topic's indicator table.
See the page for the full list of indicators in this report.
Table IG.1: Example of a topic's indicator table
| Indicator | Environmental status | Environmental trend | Information reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozone (O3) | Stable | Good | |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | Stable | Good |
Notes:
Indicator table scales:
- Environmental status: Good, moderate, poor, unknown
- Environmental trend: Getting better, stable, getting worse.
- Information reliability: Good, reasonable, limited.
See to learn how terms and symbols are defined.
Indicator tables appear in all 2024 topics' Status and trends section, except for the following topics: (and sub pages), , and .
Indicator status
‘Indicator status’ refers to the environmental condition of the indicator. It is based on new information or data from the reporting period between the previous and current State of the Environment reports. See Table IG.2 for the interpretation of each indicator status.
Table IG.2: Indicator status icons and interpretation
| Indicator rating | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Green: Good – the data shows a positive or healthy environmental condition. | |
| Blue: Moderate – the data shows that the environmental condition is neither good nor poor, or results may be mixed. | |
| Red: Poor – the data indicates poor environmental condition or condition under significant stress. | |
| Grey: Unknown – insufficient data or information is available to make an assessment. |
Notes:
Indicator statuses are assessed by NSW EPA, based on the data provided each.
Indicator trend
‘Indicator trend’ describes the direction of significant change in environmental condition. The trend takes the new ‘status’ information and previous data into account, whenever possible, to help understand the level of background variation that may be present.
The trend reported, if maintained, may have an impact on the overall status of the indicator in the future. See Table IG.3 for interpretations of indicator trends.
Table IG.3: Indicator trend and reliability
| Indicator trend | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Getting better | The trend in environmental condition for the indicator is clearly improving (environmental impacts are decreasing). While a trend may be positive in direction, it may still be many years before the change is enough to warrant a revision to the status. |
| Stable | No significant change in condition is evident, usually allowing for some level of fluctuation due to the background variability that occurs in most naturally occurring systems. |
| Getting worse | The trend in environmental condition for the indicator is clearly deteriorating (environmental impacts are increasing). |
| Unknown | Insufficient data available over time to provide an accurate trend. |
Notes:
Indicator trends are assessed by NSW EPA.
Indicator reliability
‘Indicator reliability’ describes the level of confidence in the data or information used to make these assessments. It considers the statewide extent of data coverage, the accuracy and ‘fitness for use’ of the data and the reliability of the information and its interpretation in assessing the status and trend for the indicator.
This is represented in Table IG.4.
Table IG.4: Indicator reliability and interpretation
| Indicator reliability | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Good | The data or information is sufficient to interpret the outcome with confidence. |
| Reasonable | The data coverage may not be complete or the supporting information drawn on is not ideally fit for purpose (often it is collected for some other purpose) but is still adequate for use in this context and the interpretations are sound. |
| Limited | The data coverage is patchy and uneven in quality or there may be some inconsistencies in the supporting information, so caution is needed in considering the ratings and interpretations. |
| n/a | Insufficient information data to be reliable. |
Notes:
Indicator reliability is assessed by NSW EPA.