The Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS or AusRivAS) is a national biomonitoring scheme that supposedly assesses the ‘biological health’ of rivers. AUSRIVAS outputs observed-over-expected (O/E) indices derived from macroinvertebrate survey data obtained both at a site to be assessed and at designated reference sites. However, AUSRIVAS reference sites lack any consistent or quantified status, and, therefore, AUSRIVAS O/E indices have no particular meaning. Moreover, many studies have found AUSRIVAS O/E to be a weak or inconsistent indicator of exposure to anthropogenic or human-influenced stressors. Poor performance by AUSRIVAS may relate to numerous factors including the following: (1) variable reference-site status, (2) inappropriate model predictors, (3) limitations of O/E indices, (4) inconstant sampling methods, and (5) neglect of non-seasonal temporal variability. The indices Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Trichoptera (EPT) and stream invertebrate grade number – average level (SIGNAL) provide alternatives that have often outperformed AUSRIVAS O/E in comparative tests. In addition, bioassessment of Australian rivers might be advanced by the development of diagnostic methods to identify the stressors causing ecological impact rather than merely to infer impact intensity and assign quality ratings to assessment sites.

澳大利亚河流评估系统（AUSRIVAS或AusRivAS）是一项国家生物监测计划，据说可以评估河流的“生物健康”。AUSRIVAS输出观察到的超预期（O / E）指数，该指数来自在待评估地点和指定参考地点获得的大型无脊椎动物调查数据。但是，AUSRIVAS参考站点缺乏任何一致或定量的状态，因此AUSRIVAS O / E索引没有特殊含义。此外，许多研究发现AUSRIVAS O / E是暴露于人为或人为影响的应激源的弱或不一致的指标。AUSRIVAS的效果不佳可能与许多因素有关，这些因素包括：（1）参考站点状态可变，（2）模型预测指标不合适，（3）O / E指数的局限性，（4）采样方法不稳定，（5）忽略非季节性的时间变异性。phe翅目–鞘翅目–翅翅目（EPT）指数和溪流无脊椎动物等级数–平均水平（SIGNAL）提供了在比较测试中通常胜过AUSRIVAS O / E的替代方案。此外，通过开发诊断方法来识别造成生态影响的压力源，而不是仅仅推断影响强度并将质量等级分配给评估地点，可以对澳大利亚河流进行生物评估。