Australia must act to stop its growing animal extinction crisis, environmental campaigners say.

National laws should be overhauled and independent groups established to ensure legislation is implemented in a bid to reverse a worrying trend, the Wilderness Society says.

The call comes ahead of a Senate committee hearing in Melbourne on Thursday, part of an ongoing inquiry, titled Australia's Faunal Extinction Crisis.

"Australia has one of the world's worst records for extinction and protection of animal species," the Wilderness Society said in its submission to the upper house's Environment and Communications References Committee.

"Australians depend on thriving ecosystems for their well-being and prosperity, and extinction fundamentally threatens the healthy functioning of these ecosystems."

The Wilderness Society said it "strongly recommends a complete overhaul of Australia's national environment laws" to better protect threatened species.

It is also calling for enhanced protection for the habitats of at-risk animals and a national environment plan to set objectives for state and federal governments, which would be reviewed every five years.

"Australia needs to act quickly to stem the tide of extinction," the organisation said.

The senate's inquiry is examining the impact of faunal extinction, the adequacy of Commonwealth environment laws and current practices.

Australia is experiencing an ongoing decline in the population and conservation status of nearly 500 threatened fauna species, the committee says.

Representatives from The Wilderness Society Australia, Victorian National Parks Association and VicForests, the state government's logging agency, are among those giving evidence to the inquiry on Thursday.