{"id":"F2022L00136","name":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (2022 conservation theme for prioritising nominations of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes) Determination 2022","slug":"environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":102275,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2022L00136-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (2022 conservation theme for prioritising nominations of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes) Determination 2022","content":"![Commonwealth of Australia Coat of Arms](image.001.png)\n\nCommonwealth of Australia\n\nEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (2022 conservation theme for prioritising nominations of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes) Determination 2022\n\nI, SUSSAN LEY, Minister for the Environment, under section 194D of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, determine that the following conservation theme should be given priority in relation to the assessment period commencing 1 October 2022:\n\n‘Marine and freshwater species’\n\nThis instrument commences the day after registration.\n\nSussan Ley\n\n..............................................................................................................\n\nMinister for the Environment\n\nDated ……8/2/22……….................………","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the function intended by section 194D of the EPBC Act—annual designation of a conservation theme for prioritising nominations. It has not expanded beyond this narrow, specific purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with no defined terms","No cross-references beyond the empowering section (s 194D)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Extremely short (under 200 words)","Straightforward declaration of a single conservation theme"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal document where the federal Environment Minister sets a priority focus area for deciding which endangered plants, animals, and ecological threats should be assessed first during 2022–2023.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Under Australia's main environmental law (the EPBC Act), the Minister can nominate a \"conservation theme\" each year to guide which species and ecological communities get priority attention.\n- For the assessment period starting **1 October 2022**, the theme is **\"Marine and freshwater species\"**.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Scientists, conservation groups, and government officials who nominate species for threatened status listings.\n- Any fish, marine mammals, aquatic plants, or freshwater creatures being considered for protection under federal law.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Australia has thousands of species waiting to be assessed for protection. This determination tells the relevant scientific committee to prioritise ocean and freshwater species during this period, potentially speeding up protection for vulnerable aquatic life like fish, frogs, turtles, or marine mammals facing threats from pollution, habitat loss, or climate change."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument performs the specific function authorised by section 194D: it designates a priority conservation theme for a defined assessment period. It does not expand or contract the Act’s substantive listing criteria or create new legal obligations; it changes only the prioritisation of nominations for that assessment period."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative decision: names one conservation theme for one assessment period","Relies on an external statutory power (s194D EPBC Act) for authority but adds no procedural detail","No new procedural rules, criteria, or obligations in the instrument itself","Short temporal scope (assessment period commencing 1 October 2022) limits ongoing complexity","Operational details and resource implications are delegated to administering agency, creating implicit implementation discretion"],"plain_english_summary":"What this instrument does (mechanical change)\n\n- The Minister for the Environment, using the power in section 194D of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, designates a single \"conservation theme\" to receive priority when nominations are assessed during a specified assessment period. (See: instrument text and reference to section 194D.)\n- For the assessment period that begins on 1 October 2022, the chosen theme is: \"Marine and freshwater species.\"\n- The instrument takes effect the day after it is registered.\n\nWho it affects and how it works in practice\n\n- Decision-maker: The Minister has set the theme under the Act; the administering agency will implement prioritisation in its assessment workplans. (Source: instrument language referencing s194D and the nominated theme.)\n- People and organisations who nominate species or ecological communities: Nominations of marine and freshwater species will be given priority for assessment during the stated assessment period. This changes the order in which nominations are processed, not the statutory criteria for listing. (Source: instrument title and operative text.)\n- Other nominators (e.g. terrestrial species nominators) are not given priority under this instrument for that assessment period; their nominations are likely to be assessed later relative to the priority group.\n\nStated purpose and how it maps to trade-offs and incentives\n\n- The instrument explicitly directs limited assessment resources toward marine and freshwater species for the stated assessment period. That is the instrument's operative effect. Any claims about broader policy aims are assertions of purpose rather than new legal effects; the instrument itself only prescribes prioritisation. (Source: instrument text.)\n- Who pays: The instrument reallocates the administering agency’s assessment attention and administrative resources toward the priority theme for the relevant period. Administrative effort to process nominations will be concentrated on the nominated group. The instrument does not create a new funding stream or specify budgetary changes; it changes prioritisation only. (Source: instrument text.)\n- Incentives and behaviour changes: Because the instrument changes which nominations are prioritised, nominators who want faster assessment outcomes may be more likely to submit nominations falling within the priority theme. Conversely, nominators of non-priority items may expect longer processing times during the period. (Mechanism: stated prioritisation of \"Marine and freshwater species\" for the assessment period beginning 1 October 2022.)\n\nCosts, trade-offs and implementation risks (mechanisms, not judgements)\n\n- Opportunity cost: Prioritising one thematic group for the assessment period means other nominations compete for remaining assessment capacity and may be delayed. The instrument does not specify how long delays last, nor how competing nominations are triaged within the non-priority pool. (Source: instrument’s single-theme priority and limited temporal scope.)\n- Compliance and administrative burden: The instrument itself imposes no new legal duties on private parties or procedural requirements for nominations; it alters the order in which nominations are considered. Any change in paperwork or process would derive from the administering agency’s operational response, not from this instrument directly. (Source: instrument text.)\n- Bureaucratic discretion: The Minister exercises the statutory discretion in s194D to choose the priority theme. The implementing agency will exercise operational discretion in applying the prioritisation in day-to-day assessment work. The instrument does not prescribe detailed operational criteria or timelines. (Source: reference to s194D and the brief operative text.)\n\nEffects on businesses and private actors (mechanism-based observations)\n\n- The instrument does not itself change substantive legal protections, approvals, or constraints attached to any species or ecological community. It changes the relative timing of assessments, which can alter the timing of later regulatory outcomes if an assessment leads to a listing that carries regulatory consequences. The instrument does not create or change those downstream rules; it only affects which nominations are prioritised during the stated period. (Source: instrument’s focus on prioritisation for the assessment period.)\n\nSummary statement\n\n- This Determination is a narrow, time-limited administrative instruction: it directs that nominations relating to \"Marine and freshwater species\" be given priority for assessment during the assessment period commencing 1 October 2022, and it commences the day after registration. The ministerial power used is s194D of the EPBC Act. The practical effect is a reordering of assessment effort for that period; it does not itself change listing criteria, substantive legal obligations, or funding arrangements."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina","history":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-2022-conservation-theme-for-prioritising-nomina/documents"}}