Worldwide, the dugong is listed under the IUCN - the World Conservation Union - Red List of Threatened Animals as being vulnerable to extinction - criteria A2bcd.

In Australia, dugongs are protected under various legislation. They are not presently listed as threatened under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, however, they are protected because they are a ‘listed migratory’ and a ‘listed marine’ species. They are also protected by other Commonwealth legislation such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 where they are a protected species. The Queensland Government's Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 lists dugongs as 'vulnerable to extinction'.

While dugongs are threatened on a worldwide scale, Australia has a large proportion of the remaining population. This makes Australia the largest, and globally most important, refuge for dugongs. The sensitive ecological status of these animals globally highlights the need for effective management strategies to protect and conserve the Australian population. 

There are concerns about the dugong population within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Based on current research it is thought that dugong numbers have dramatically declined along the urban coast of Queensland, south of Cooktown.  There are a number of human related threats to dugongs including boatstrike, incidental capture in fishing nets and marine debris, and habitat degradation due to coastal development and declining water quality. 

Poaching (i.e. illegal hunting when the person does not have the right to hunt and/or hunts in order to sell the dugong meat for profit) has also been reported as a problem in some areas of the Great Barrier Reef. In a select few communities, legal traditional hunting by  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owners may also impact on dugong numbers if the level of harvest is unsustainable, however in general Traditional Owner groups will take only a few (if any) dugongs each year for cultural purposes.  Current combined levels of mortality from all threats, as reported in the marine strandings database maintained by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency/Queensland Parks and Wildlife, are thought to be unsustainable.  As dugongs are long-lived and slow breeding animals, recovery from any population decline can take many years.

Along the remote coast of Queensland, north of Cooktown up Cape York and into the Torres Strait, there is less pressure from factors such as coastal development, however there are impacts on dugongs from incidental capture in fishing nets, poaching, boatstrike and traditional hunting in the few specific communities where levels of harvest are unsustainable.

Dugongs have been an important food source for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this region for thousands of years.  Scientists suggest that urgent measures must be taken to stabilise dugong numbers and to reverse the decline for future generations. All human-related mortality issues must be addressed to ensure dugongs remain an integral part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition and custom, as well as one of the recognised World Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Position Statement on conservation of dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park contains further information on status of dugongs and management initiatives in the region.