Impact Priority 4 - Improving air quality

Overview
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Clean air is essential for human health and environmental wellbeing, yet air pollution remains a challenge in many Australian communities. Impact Priority 4 (IP4) provides research, tools and practical solutions to help policymakers, councils and communities improve air quality and reduce exposure to harmful pollutants. 

Our research is structured around five key sub-projects: 

Project 1: Let’s Yarn About Smoke

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Understanding and addressing the impacts of landscape fire smoke on Indigenous communities. 

Why? 

Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by air pollution from bushfires, cultural burns, and household smoke exposure. Understanding how smoke affects these communities and identifying culturally appropriate solutions is essential for improving health outcomes. 

Who? 

Project lead: 

  • Dr Amanda Wheeler, CSIRO 

Project team: 

What? 

  • Working with Indigenous communities to understand lived experiences of smoke exposure. 
  • Co-developing strategies to reduce exposure and improve air quality in Indigenous communities. 

Learn more about our research across Australia: 

Map: Indigenous air quality, asthma and Indigenous health research

What’s coming? 

  • Community-led insights on smoke impacts and mitigation strategies. 
  • Recommendations for culturally appropriate air quality interventions. 
  • Resources to support Indigenous-led air quality solutions. 

Project Outputs: 

Public health messaging during landscape fire smoke events (June 2022)

IP4 Stakeholder engagement report (Dec 2021)

Project 2: Air Pollution in a Changing Climate 
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Investigating how climate policies and emissions reduction strategies affect future air pollution. 

Why? 

As Australia transitions to a low-emissions future, changes in energy use, transport, and industry will influence air quality. Understanding these interactions is critical to ensuring climate policies also improve public health. 

Who? 

Project lead:  

  • Dr Kathryn Emmerson, CSIRO 

What? 

  • Analysing how emissions reduction policies affect air pollution sources. 
  • Identifying potential increases or reductions in future air pollution from energy transitions. 
  • Providing guidance to policymakers on integrating air quality and climate action. 

What’s coming? 

  • A literature review on air pollution trends under different emissions scenarios. 
  • Policy recommendations for balancing climate action and air quality management. 

Project 3: Wood Heater Emissions: Novel Solutions
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Developing and testing interventions to reduce wood heater emissions. 

Why? 

Wood heaters remain a significant source of air pollution, particularly in colder regions. Despite existing regulations, they continue to contribute to high levels of fine particulate pollution (PM2.5), impacting public health. New solutions are needed to address this issue effectively. 

Who? 

Project lead:  

Project team:  

What? 

  • Developing and testing new protocols for measuring emissions from wood heaters. 
  • Evaluating policy options, including incentive programs and regulatory measures. 
  • Supporting councils in implementing effective interventions. 

What’s coming? 

  • A new standard to drive innovation in emission reduction technologies. 
  • Policy recommendations for managing wood heater pollution. 

Project 4: Evaluating Safe Havens and Low-Cost Sensors
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Assessing the effectiveness of air quality interventions in community settings. 

Why? 

During extreme air pollution events, such as bushfires, safe indoor spaces can help protect vulnerable populations. Low-cost sensors also provide an opportunity to monitor local air quality and identify pollution hotspots. This project evaluates the effectiveness of interventions. 

Who? 

Project lead: 

Project team:  

  • Dr Amanda Wheeler, CSIRO 
  • Dr Janice Wormworth, UNSW Sydney 

What? 

  • Assessing the effectiveness of safe havens and clean air shelters. 
  • Testing low-cost sensors to improve community-level air quality monitoring. 
  • Providing guidance on best practices for air quality interventions. 

What’s coming? 

  • Research findings on safe haven effectiveness. 

Project 5: Reviewing the methodology to set Australian ambient air quality standards
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Working with regulatory stakeholders to review the methodology used to set Australia's ambient air quality standards. The Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) applies to air pollutants including particles (as PM10 and PM2.5), ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and lead. These pollutants are produced by multiple sources. The health effects arising from exposures to these pollutants are well documented. 

Why? 

Air quality standards help protect people from the health effects of air pollution. 

The project:

  • determined whether the current methodology remains fit for purpose in light of advances in air quality science, health evidence, monitoring technologies, and changing policy priorities
  • was informed by extensive consultation with representatives from Australian Commonwealth, state and territory environment and health agencies, technical experts, researchers, the National Air Technical Advisory Group (NATAG), the enHealth Air Quality Working Group, and international experts
     

Who? 

Project leads: 

  • Dr Amanda Wheeler, CSIRO
  • Dr Kathryn Emmerson, CSIRO
  • Dr Melita Keywood, CSIRO  

What? 

The project engaged with stakeholders to review the methodology used for setting Australia’s air quality standards. This included reviewing a range of different components of the methodology:

  • the statutory basis of NEPMs,
  • factors to be considered in developing standards,
  • international approaches to standard setting,
  • methods for estimating the economic value of adverse health and environmental effects, and
  • approaches to establishing causality.

After conducting individual interviews with stakeholders, a workshop was held to review input to the recommendations for changes..

What’s coming? 

  • Recommendations on how Australia’s air quality standards should be reviewed.
  • Advice on whether pollutants should be reviewed together or separately, including the risks and benefits.
  • Recommendations on updates to health risk assessments, economic analysis, exposure-reduction measures and health impact valuations.
  • Advice on how future review work should be structured and resourced.

A final report setting out the proposed review method has been published.

 

Project outputs:

Final report and recommendations on changes needed to the methodology used for reviewing Australia’s ambient air quality standards.

Review of the Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) Methodology

Amanda Wheeler, Kathryn Emmerson, Melita Keywood
Published 30 Sep 2026
Report: https://doi.org/10.25919/s2ad-s223

 

Completed: Real-world Wood Heater Testing Protocols 
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Developing a real-world testing protocol for evaluating particulate and greenhouse gas emissions from Australian wood heaters.

Why?

The testing protocol used in current Australian and New Zealand Standards (AS/NZS4012-4013) does not reflect typical wood heater operations in a household and, as a result, grossly underestimates emissions that occur when the appliances are used after sale (Johnston et al., 2023). 

Who?

Project lead: 

Project team: 

What?

Australia must develop its own updated testing methods to update testing protocols due to the dominant fire fuel being Eucalypt hardwoods. Emissions and efficiency testing of wood heaters was undertaken to inform the development of a new real-world testing protocol. Implementation with appropriate independent governance and auditing, and enforcement will provide an opportunity for innovation and reform in wood heater design. This supports vastly improved air quality and community health and enables Australians to benefit from existing and new low-emissions technologies. 

News
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