Environment Australia is responsible for national State of the Environment (SoE) reporting which provides ongoing, independent and scientifically-credible assessments of Australia’s environment to decision-maker s and the wider national an d international community . The first national SoE report was Australia: State of the Environment 1996 and the next major assessment is scheduled for 2001. Environment Australia is developing environmental indicators for future SoE reports and indicator bulletins. Technical and scientific expert s were commissioned to recommend key indicators, and appropriate monitoring and reporting methods for several environment themes, including biodiversity. This paper discusses the benefits to SoE reporting of including invertebrate biodiversity and the possible role for invertebrate s in assisting SoE reporting of habitat condition at regional (sub-national) and national scales.