Australian Waterbird Surveys (AWS) is an information source of waterbird communities around Australia, based on surveys of their diversity and numbers. It relies on rigorous data collection protocols and includes more than 50 waterbird species and up to 30 years of survey data. This open source also includes the extent of flooding of thousands of wetlands observed during our surveys. As a group, waterbirds can be sentinels of the ecological health of our wetlands and rivers. We hope this free information system will help track long-term changes in the environment, provide an assessment tool for individual species, report on our national and international responsibilities and help improve the way we manage our rivers and wetlands. It has been developed with the support of research and government partners.