{"id":"C2025A00066","name":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Act 2025","slug":"environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"66 of 2025","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436451,"registerId":"C2025A00066-fast-fetch-1775953647864","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Act 2025","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Act 2025\n\nNo. 66, 2025\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charges that are neither duties of customs nor duties of excise in relation to matters connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Act binds the Crown\n\n4 Extension to external Territories\n\n5 Extra‑territorial application\n\n6 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n7 Imposition of charges\n\n8 Matters relating to amount of charges\n\n9 Exemptions from charges\n\n10 Regulations\n\n \n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Act 2025\n\nNo. 66, 2025\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charges that are neither duties of customs nor duties of excise in relation to matters connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 1 December 2025]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Act 2025.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. 2 December 2025\n- 2. Sections 3 to 10 A day or days to be fixed by one or more Proclamations.However, if any of the provisions do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Act binds the Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth.\n\n4  Extension to external Territories\n\n  This Act extends to the external Territories.\n\n5  Extra‑territorial application\n\n  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.\n\n6  Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n\n (2) In this section:\n\nproperty of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\n7  Imposition of charges\n\n (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or regulations made under that Act.\n\n (2) Charges prescribed under subsection (1) are imposed as taxes.\n\n (3) Two or more charges may be prescribed in relation to the same matter, and a single charge may be prescribed in relation to 2 or more matters.\n\n (4) This section imposes a charge only so far as that charge is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.\n\n8  Matters relating to amount of charges\n\n (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge under subsection 7(1):\n\n (a) by specifying an amount as the charge; or\n\n (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the charge.\n\n (2) Before the Governor‑General makes a regulation under subsection 7(1) prescribing a charge in relation to a matter, the Minister must be satisfied that the amount of the charge is set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the matter.\n\n9  Exemptions from charges\n\n  The regulations may provide for exemptions from a charge prescribed under subsection 7(1).\n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the regulations; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 30 October 2025\n\nSenate on 24 November 2025]\n\n \n\n(96/25)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is narrowly focused on creating a statutory power to impose charges by regulation for administration of the EPBC Act. It does not expand the substantive regulatory remit of the EPBC Act (for example, it does not create new environmental offences, standards, or substantive approvals). Any broadening of effect would come from future regulations that specify which matters are charged and at what levels; the Act itself merely delegates authority to set and collect charges subject to constitutional and Ministerial cost‑recovery limits (ss 7–9)."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 10 substantive sections (1–10) plus commencement table — limited length","No new defined terms or extended interpretation section","Heavy delegation to regulations for substantive detail (ss 7–10) — most operational content resides in subordinate legislation","Constitutional cross‑references: excludes customs/excise (s 7(4) referencing s 55 of the Constitution) and excludes tax on State property (s 6 referencing s 114 of the Constitution)","Ministerial precondition that adds conditionality (s 8(2): Minister must be satisfied charges recover no more than likely Commonwealth costs)","Commencement by proclamation with 12‑month fallback (s 2) — timing complexity","Crown‑binding carve‑outs (s 3) and extra‑territorial application (ss 4–5)","Permits multiple charges per matter and multiple matters per charge (s 7(3)) which allows regulatory complexity depending on design"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Commonwealth authorise regulations that impose charges (treated as taxes) for administering the EPBC Act, with the Minister required to limit charges to likely Commonwealth costs and exemptions allowed. It chiefly affects applicants and other users of EPBC services, shifting some administrative costs from general taxpayers to direct users. Its practical effects depend on later regulations that set who pays, how much, and any exemptions."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: creating a statutory framework for cost-recovery charges related to EPBC Act administration. It does not expand beyond this narrow enabling function."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (only 10 sections)","Minimal defined terms (only one explicit definition in section 6(2) referencing the Constitution)","Heavy reliance on delegated legislation — most substantive content (actual charges, amounts, exemptions) left to future regulations","Simple conditional logic limited to constitutional safeguards (section 6, section 7(4))","No cross-references to other Acts except the parent EPBC Act 1999 and the Constitution","Straightforward structure: imposition power → calculation method → exemptions → regulation-making power"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a framework for the Australian Government to charge fees for services related to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows the government to impose **charges** (fees) for matters connected with administering the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999* (the main national environmental law).\n- These charges are treated as **taxes** under the law, but specifically exclude customs duties and excise duties (which have special constitutional requirements).\n- The actual amounts of the fees aren't set in this Act — they'll be determined later through **regulations** (secondary laws made by the government).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone who interacts with the national environmental law — typically businesses, developers, or individuals seeking approvals or permits under the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999*.\n- State governments (the Act binds the Crown in right of the States, meaning states must comply, though it doesn't tax state property).\n\n**Key safeguards:**\n- **Cost recovery only**: Before any fee is set, the Minister must be satisfied it recovers no more than the Commonwealth's actual costs for that service.\n- **Exemptions possible**: Regulations can provide exemptions from fees.\n- **Constitutional protection**: The Act explicitly avoids imposing customs or excise duties, which would require different parliamentary procedures under the Constitution.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is an **enabling Act** — it creates the legal power to charge fees but leaves the details (what fees, how much, for what specific services) to be filled in later. It's essentially the \"engine\" that allows the environment department to charge for its regulatory services, while ensuring fees remain tied to actual costs rather than becoming general revenue-raising taxes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025","history":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-general-charges-imposition-act-2025/documents"}}