The Porifera (sponge) collection includes more than 4000 registered specimens from the class Demospongiae, and small number of specimens from the classes Calcarea and Hexactinellida (glass sponges). Microscope slides (spicule and thick section preparations) are associated to most of the registered material. The collection comprehensively covers northern Australia, but also includes specimens from other regions in Southeast Asia (e.g. Philippines, Thailand) and the central west Pacific. Most species in the collection represent new species and are undescribed.

Research currently is directed at the collection of material from Darwin Harbour and other parts of the NT coastline as part of a Bioprospecting Program, funded by the Coral Reef Research Foundation, to collect macroinvertebrates for anti-cancer and anti-AIDS research by the US National Cancer Institute. This work has resulted in the collection of more than 500 sponge specimens, which will be registered within the general collection. All the new material is linked to microscope slides, underwater photos and description of the external morphology of the live material. Separate samples of axinellids and calcareous sponges will be preserved in a manner suitable for molecular biological studies.