{"id":"environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021","name":"Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021","slug":"environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176579,"registerId":"wa-environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nEnvironmental Protection Act 1986\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021\n\nWestern Australia\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Application to have matter dealt with as bilateral matter 1\n\n5. Requirements for bilateral application 2\n\n6. Transitional provision for certain clearing permit applications 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nEnvironmental Protection Act 1986\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations are the *Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the *Gazette*;\n\n(b) the rest of the regulations — on the day on which the *Environmental Protection Amendment Act 2020* section 100 comes into operation.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn these regulations —\n\nbilateral application means an application referred to in regulation 4(1);\n\ninitiating process, for a matter, means an application or other process that initiates consideration of the matter under the Act;\n\nrelevant State entity, for a matter, means the State entity who is given the initiating process for the matter.\n\n##### 4. Application to have matter dealt with as bilateral matter\n\n(1) A person may, in respect of a matter, apply to the relevant State entity for the matter to be dealt with under the Act as a bilateral matter if, under a bilateral agreement, the performance of functions in respect of the matter by a State entity will or may have effect for the purposes of the Commonwealth Environment Act.\n\n(2) The person must make a bilateral application in relation to a matter —\n\n(a) if the initiating process for the matter is a referral of a proposal by a person other than the proponent and the proponent receives a requisition under section 38F(2) of the Act — on or before the day on which the compliance period specified in the requisition under that section ends; or\n\n(b) in any other case — on the day on which the initiating process for the matter is given to the relevant State entity for the matter.\n\n(3) However, if a bilateral application in relation to a matter is not made in accordance with subregulation (2), the relevant State entity for the matter may decide to accept a bilateral application on a later day if the relevant State entity considers it appropriate to do so.\n\n(4) When making a decision under subregulation (3), without limiting the matters to which the relevant State entity for the matter may have regard, the relevant State entity must have regard to the extent to which the relevant State entity has performed their functions under the Act in relation to the matter.\n\n##### 5. Requirements for bilateral application\n\nA bilateral application must —\n\n(a) be in writing; and\n\n(b) if a form is approved for use in submitting the application under section 122B of the Act —\n\n(i) be in the approved form; and\n\n(ii) contain or be accompanied by any information required as indicated in the form.\n\n##### 6. Transitional provision for certain clearing permit applications\n\n(1) This regulation applies if, before the day (commencement day) on which this regulation comes into operation —\n\n(a) a person has applied under Part V Division 2 of the Act for a clearing permit; and\n\n(b) the clearing permit application is being assessed in accordance with the “Bilateral agreement made under section 45 of the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999* (Cth) relating to environmental assessment” entered into by the State and the Commonwealth on 3 October 2014.\n\n(2) The person who applied for the clearing permit is taken to have made, on commencement day, a bilateral application in respect of the clearing permit application in accordance with these regulations.\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021*. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Published** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021* | SL 2021/177 22 Oct 2021 | r. 1 and 2: 22 Oct 2021 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 23 Oct 2021 (see r. 2(b) and SL 2021/176 cl. 2) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nbilateral application 3\n\ncommencement day 6(1)\n\ninitiating process 3\n\nrelevant State entity 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: establishing procedural requirements for bilateral applications under the EP Act 1986. The scope has not expanded beyond creating an application mechanism and transitional arrangements for existing clearing permits."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 regulations total, with minimal cross-referencing","Just 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (regulation 3)","Single conditional exception in regulation 4(3) allowing late applications","One transitional provision (regulation 6) with straightforward deeming effect","No nested exceptions or complex computational rules","Heavy reliance on external statutes (EP Act 1986 (WA) and EPBC Act 1999 (Cth)) for substantive content, keeping the regulations procedural and lean"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\nThese regulations create a formal process for people to ask the Western Australian government to handle certain environmental matters under a special \"bilateral agreement\" with the Commonwealth (federal) government.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Landowners and developers** who need environmental approvals for projects (especially clearing permits)\n- **State government agencies** (like the Environmental Protection Authority) who process these applications\n- **Anyone** whose project might trigger both state and federal environmental laws\n\n**Why it matters:**\nNormally, big projects might need separate approvals from both the WA government *and* the federal government under the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999* (Cth) — a process called \"double-handling.\" Bilateral agreements let WA handle the assessment on behalf of the Commonwealth, so applicants only deal with one government.\n\n**Key rules:**\n- You must apply to have your matter treated as a \"bilateral matter\" — it doesn't happen automatically\n- **Timing is strict:** You generally must apply on the same day you start your state application (or by the deadline if you're responding to a requisition)\n- Late applications *might* be accepted, but only if the agency thinks it's appropriate and hasn't already done too much work on your case\n- Applications must be in writing and use any approved forms\n- **Transitional relief:** If you already had a clearing permit application being assessed under the old 2014 bilateral agreement when these rules started, you're automatically covered — no need to reapply"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations implement procedural steps for treating matters as bilateral without changing which matters qualify under the bilateral agreements. They prescribe application timing (reg 4(2)), required form/content (reg 5), a limited power to accept late applications (reg 4(3)–(4)), and a specific transitional deeming for certain clearing permit applications (reg 6). They do not expand or narrow substantive coverage of bilateral agreements; they only set how and when an applicant and the relevant State entity proceed."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument with four operative obligations (apply, timing, form/content, transitional deeming).","Timing rules with a trigger linked to different initiating processes (reg 4(2)): multiple pathways add some procedural complexity.","Discretion to accept late applications (reg 4(3)) and a mandatory consideration (reg 4(4)) create administrative judgment calls for the relevant State entity.","Form and information dependency on an external approval under section 122B of the Act (reg 5(b)) ties these regulations to another statutory instrument.","Transitional deeming for pending clearing permits (reg 6) alters retrospective procedure for a defined subset of applications.","Definitions link terms ('initiating process', 'relevant State entity', 'bilateral application') to operational effect but are limited in number (reg 3)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set how a person asks Western Australia to treat an environmental matter as a “bilateral” matter under a State–Commonwealth agreement. They say who may apply, when the application must be made, what form and information are required, and they treat certain existing clearing‑permit applications as if the bilateral application had been made. The rules affect applicants for environmental approvals and the State entities that receive and decide those requests because they prescribe timing, formality and a narrow transitional deeming."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative content was not available. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible from the retrieved data."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the page returned a 404-style error message rather than the actual text of the regulations","Analysis is limited to inferences drawn from the title alone","The underlying subject matter (bilateral environmental agreements between state and federal governments) is inherently moderately complex, but cannot be assessed without the actual text","Complexity score reflects the inability to assess the document, not a judgment that the regulations themselves are simple"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out the detailed rules for using bilateral agreements between Western Australia and the Commonwealth to coordinate environmental assessment and approvals. They matter to developers, miners, infrastructure proponents and regulators because they change where and how major projects are assessed—potentially speeding approvals or shifting the level of federal oversight. For the full text, consult the Western Australian legislation site."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021","history":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-bilateral-agreements-regulations-2021/documents"}}