Commonwealth regulation in Australia

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (EPBC Act) is the Commonwealth Government’s central piece of environmental legislation. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places – defined in the EPBC Act as matters of national environmental significance.

There nine matters of national environmental significance provided for under the EPBC Act.

They are:

• world heritage properties
• national heritage places
• wetlands of international importance (often called 'Ramsar' wetlands after the international treaty under which such wetlands are listed)
• nationally threatened species and ecological communities
• migratory species
• Commonwealth marine areas
• the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• nuclear actions (including uranium mining)
• a water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining development.

A proponent will need to seek approval to undertake an action that has the potential to significantly impact a matter of national environmental significance.

More information

For further information, you can:

• Visit the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website
• Read the NSW Assessment Bilateral Agreement (amended 2020)
• View the Assessment Bilateral Agreement - (unamended) February 2015