Access BioNet

New release for August 2025

BioNet Atlas has new user self-service functionality and authentication security platform. Key features include:

• sign up for an account and get immediate login access to BioNet Atlas
• view your BioNet Atlas profile information
• easily request elevated access
• create and manage secure API tokens for yourself and your applications.

BioNet Atlas users – manage your account now

Existing users must verify their email address to keep access to their BioNet Atlas account. This requirement does not apply to staff with a network login, who can use their internal staff single sign-on.

BioNet Web Service users – update your authentication credentials now

There are now 2 methods for users to authenticate to the BioNet Web Service to view and retrieve data including sensitive species data (for users with elevated data access levels):

1. Basic authentication (username and password): with the upgrade of the BioNet Atlas security platform to Azure AD B2C, users need to update their basic authentication credentials to their new account username (verified email address) and new password.
   Internal staff users should try their new email address following the recent email migration project. If this does not work, use your previous email address.
2. API token: users can generate and use API token authentication to view and retrieve data at any data access level.

Basic authentication for APIs is now considered outdated and less secure, hence will be phased out by the end of 2025. Users are encouraged to switch to API tokens at their earliest convenience.

You can find instructions for basic authentication and use of API tokens in the BioNet Web Service developers guide and BioNet Power Query quick guide on the BioNet Web Service and BioNet resources web pages.

BioNet Atlas access information

BioNet Atlas is the NSW repository for species sightings, systematic surveys and threatened biodiversity data.

Access to data held in BioNet Atlas is governed by:

• The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). Under the GIPA Act, all government-held information should be accessible to the public, and information should only be withheld if it is necessary to do so in the public interest.
• The department's Sensitive species data policy. 'Sensitive' species are threatened plants and animals identified under the policy as particularly sensitive to threats such as collection or disease. Precise locational data for sensitive species is not made publicly available by the department, and this information is exempt from disclosure for the GIPA Act.

Learn more about BioNet Atlas.

Options to access data from BioNet Atlas

Data maintained in BioNet Atlas are accessible via multiple pathways and at several data access levels.

Basic access

Anyone can use BioNet Atlas search without logging in to access:

• Species sightings search
• Systematic flora survey search

Users who access data this way will see the publicly available view of BioNet Atlas data:

• 'as-held' coordinates for non-sensitive species
• for species categorised as 'sensitive' under the policy, location information is denatured or withheld from public display:
  • coordinates for category 2 sensitive species are denatured to 0.1 degree (~10km)
  • coordinates for category 3 sensitive species are denatured to 0.01 degree (~1km)
  • location fields that could be used to inform a precise location are withheld where appropriate for category 2 and 3 sensitive species

Login access

Register for a BioNet Atlas account to submit species sightings data and unlock additional system features and data access.

Register

Logging in to BioNet Atlas allows users to access the secure version of the application. After logging in, click User Profile to view and understand your account details and access permissions.

When you register, you are assigned a role and data access level.

Role

All users and business applications are assigned the DataEntry role upon registration.

Additional roles may be granted upon request to select government staff for specific data management purposes.

Apply for elevated role

Data access level

Most users are assigned the General Public data access level upon registration. This level is suitable for submitting data or to fulfil scientific licensing requirements.

General Public data access level provides the base data and functionality level:

• Access to data that the department has made publicly available (as for Basic access).
• Import spreadsheet module to upload species sightings data, including for scientific licensing purposes. Spreadsheet data are uploaded to a staging facility for validation before being imported into BioNet Atlas. The BioNet team may contact you for data validation or clarification.
• Flora surveys data analysis function to export flora survey site data and carry out survey data analyses.
• Species names and Codes modules to view full lists of taxonomic details and codes used across BioNet Atlas.
• Threatened biodiversity module to search for information on threatened species, populations, communities and key threatening processes.

Users and business applications with a General Public data access level may be granted a higher data access level by applying for a BioNet Sensitive Species Data Licence.

Department staff are provided with a Government data access level, which offers unrestricted access to as-held data for all datasets. Staff must use this confidential information in accordance with the department's Sensitive species data policy.

Data access via other BioNet applications

Data maintained in BioNet Atlas are accessible via the BioNet Web Service.

Threatened biodiversity data can also be viewed via the BioNet Threatened Biodiversity Profiles web app.

BioNet Vegetation Classification access information

BioNet Vegetation Classification is the repository for NSW landscapes and vegetation classification data.

Anyone can register as a public user for a BioNet Vegetation Classification account to search the database and export data.

Register for BioNet Vegetation Classification account

Data maintained in BioNet Vegetation Classification are also accessible via the BioNet Web Service.

Additional roles may be granted to select staff for specific data management purposes.

Apply for elevated role

Learn more about BioNet Vegetation Classification.

BioNet Web Service access information

The BioNet Web Service supplies data from BioNet Atlas and BioNet Vegetation Classification. Your data access levels for these systems are applied to the BioNet Web Service.

The BioNet Species Sightings Web Service adjusts data visibility according to data access level. To receive the data that is correct for you or your business application, ensure you provide your credentials. If no credentials are provided, only the public view of the data will be available.

All other BioNet Web Service entity sets offer a single public view of the data, accessible with or without credentials.

For more information about data access levels, refer to BioNet Atlas Login access, above. Higher level access requires a BioNet Sensitive Species Data Licence.

Guidance on how to provide your credentials to the Web Service is available in the:

• BioNet Web Service Developer guidelines
• Power Query quick guide.

The BioNet Web Service will stop using basic authentication (username and password). Users should switch to secure API tokens by the end of 2025. You can find detailed instructions for generating and using API tokens in the updated BioNet Power Query quick guide. The existing Developer guidelines also include instructions on using API tokens. Both documents are available on the BioNet Web Service and BioNet resources web pages.

Applications require a dedicated registration and data access level. We recommend developers contact the BioNet team with your business needs so we can provide additional support, including guidance for account configuration to ensure the data access level is appropriate for your use case.

Learn more about BioNet Web Service.

Other ways to access BioNet data

BioNet data can also be accessed using:

• SEED – a whole-of-government environmental data portal
• Trees Near Me NSW app and website
• Threatened Biodiversity Profiles web app