AQUEST Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group

AQUEST The Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group at RMIT is a leading research agency in aquatic pollution management.

Our research informs water management policies and practices to achieve improved waterway health, greater biodiversity, and environmental and industrial sustainability.

Services AQUEST offers:

Environmental Assessment, including ecological impact
Identification of priority water pollution issues
Sourcing of priority pollutants
Development of cost-effective monitoring systems
Development of management strategy and programs to improve aquatic environmental outcomes

AQUEST has a proven track record of working with government agencies to improve policy. In recent years, our research has contributed to improvements in the EPA State Environment Protection Policy, the Yarra River Action Plan, the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan, the Victorian Water Sensitive Urban Design guidelines and filling knowledge gaps in the Healthy Waterways Strategy.

We respect client confidentiality and encourage the private sector and government agency customers to enquire.

Contact AQUEST@rmit.edu.au for further information.

Are you interested in getting involved?

Do you want to help us find out more about pollution threats to platypus?

We are looking at potential pollutants (heavy metals and pesticides) in platypus and we need your help! If you encounter a platypus carcass or hear of one being found anywhere in Victoria – especially if it’s recent, please consider ringing Adele ASAP on 0450 089 745 to arrange collection. Find out more about Adele’s project.

Watch Adele's 3 Minute Thesis

Do you like spending time around Port Phillip and Western Port Bays?

We need help sampling for pollutants in our estuaries up to three times a year over the next three years.

Any bird watchers out there interested in bird and litter interactions?

The Citizen science project: The litter bird-en: is investigating bird-litter interactions and impacts. For your chance to participate and contribute to the Atlas of Living Australia, visit Australian Citizen Science Association website.

Learn more and join the project

Do you know of someone with a farm dam?

We have a PhD student looking for farm dams to sample. The project looks at microplastics in agriculture with the benefit of free water and sediment sampling for microplastics to the landholder.

Get more information and help

View all projects

Partnerships and collaborations

Professor Vincent Pettigrove offers insights and cutting-edge technologies from his Australian projects to support local communities in building resilience against climate impacts.

AQUEST's own Prof Vincent Pettigrove making waves in Europe

While Vin is on a six-month secondment to RMIT Europe in Barcelona,
Dr Sara Long is very capably leading AQUEST. Working with our partners, delivering a range of project activities and outcomes, supporting staff and students.
Soon, Sara too will grow wings to present at SETAC Europe in Vienna, presenting research on revising the current Aluminium guideline thresholds and will see firsthand Vin's European endeavours. Drs Claudette Kellar and Jackie Myers will each step into the top job during this time, taking the opportunity to expand their leadership skills.

Below the Surface: What a micro-pollutant study reveals about bay health

For the latest findings from our Port Phillip Bay Micro-pollutants Study watch this webinar. Hosted by the Port Phillip Bay EcoCentre and presented by Dr Jackie Myers (AQUEST's own) and Dr Morgan Ellis of Deakin University. Results from our recent Baseline micro-pollutant study for Port Phillip Bay study were presented and an engaging discussion had. A report will be available shortly.

If you have any queries please contact us at aquest@rmit.edu.au

The AQUEST research group at RMIT University have a long-standing collaborative relationship with the Australian Federal Government’s National Measurement Institute.

More than just a commercial laboratory arrangement, this collaboration has seen:

Research into micro-pollutant contamination across Australia
Development of unique screens for micro-pollutants to detect pollutants in water (exclusive arrangement) using Waters screens. This will benefit the environmental management industry once converted to commercial laboratory application
Major research contribution to the Aquatic Pollution Prevention Partnership (A3P) projects investigating Chemicals of Concern, Wetlands contamination
Joint supervision and successful completion of PhD projects combining on-ground knowledge and processes with technical excellence to develop specific micro-pollutant screening protocols and developing individual methods to detect specific types of micro-pollutants (e.g. fragrance/ musks)
Successful competitive grant applications e.g. Victorian Government Port Phillip Bay Fund partnering with other organisations to deliver a major project investigating micro-pollutants in 19 estuaries and near shore Port Phillip Bay

A3P Aquatic Pollution Prevention Partnership

A collaborative research partnership delivering practical management solutions to reduce pollution in our waterways.

Learn more about A3P

Melbourne Water Waterways Research Forums 2023 and 2021 | Healthy Waterways Strategy

See the latest waterway research from Melbourne Water research partners, featuring A3P. Information is also available in the individual project pages.

Find out more about the 2023 research forum

Find out more about the 2021 event

Joint TWRA-RMIT Webinar Series 2023

Check out our TWRA RMIT Webinar Series - YouTube on Microplastics and Biodiversity Assessment, with more topics to come. Hosted by TWRA online, with the purpose of increasing our combined research impact by facilitating opportunities to collaborate and share knowledge.

The partnership is between the Tropical Water Research Alliance (TWRA) and two RMIT research groups- Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group (AQUEST) and Water: Effective Tools and Technology (WETT)

The TWRA is a research alliance between Brazil and Australia searching for solutions to water problems in tropical ecosystems.

At RMIT University, AQUEST aims to identify and address the ecological impacts of pollution in aquatic environments and WETT brings together multidisciplinary researchers to develop technologies and methodologies for managing societal water needs.

Our People

Find out more about our researchers and the work that they are doing.

Our Publications

Find out more about the journal articles, technical reports, and books we've produced about our research. For a copy, please email: aquest@rmit.edu.au

AQUEST newsletters

AQUEST-A3P YouTube channel

Meet our research team as they star in videos about topics close to our heart, share Webinars we've delivered including the wrap-up of our Pesticide Detectives project, Conference presentations and some “how-to” videos for pollution sampling.

For Melbourne Water Waterways Research Forum presentations showing how our research supports the Healthy Waterways Strategy in our region, see the banner on this page.

View YouTube channel

Interested in collaborating with us?

Get in touch:

AQUEST Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group

Email: aquest@rmit.edu.au

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information