{"id":"F2008B00466","name":"Determination that a distinct population of biological entities is a species under section 517 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (24/09/2001)","slug":"f2008b00466","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":335579,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2008B00466-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination that a distinct population of biological entities is a species under section 517 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (24/09/2001)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\ntitle: Commonwealth of Australia\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\nCommonwealth of Australia\n\n \n\nDetermination that a distinct population of biological entities is a species under section 517 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI, ROBERT MURRAY HILL, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, pursuant to section 517(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby determine that the following populations of biological entities are species for the purposes of section 178 of that Act:\n\n \n\n \n\n-                         Carcharias taurus east coast population (Grey Nurse Shark east coast population)\n\n\n \n\n-                         Carcharias taurus west coast population (Grey Nurse Shark west coast population)\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nDated this 24th day of September 2001\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nROBERT HILL\n\nMinister for the Environment and Heritage\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument exercises the existing statutory power in section 517(1) to declare two specified populations of Carcharias taurus to be \"species\" for the purposes of section 178. It does not change the Act’s text or extend the statutory powers beyond naming these two populations; it simply applies the statutory mechanism provided by s517(1) to those populations."},"complexity_factors":["Single, narrow administrative act (designation of two named populations) rather than a multi-part regulatory scheme","Relies on cross-reference to other statutory provision (section 178) for substantive legal consequences","Uses explicit statutory power (section 517(1)), so legal basis is straightforward","No technical definitions or procedural schedules in the instrument itself","Implementation complexity depends on external provision (s178) not reproduced here"],"plain_english_summary":"The Minister for the Environment and Heritage formally declares two distinct populations of Carcharias taurus—the east and west coast Grey Nurse Shark populations—to be treated as “species” for the purposes of section 178 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This legal designation (made 24 September 2001 by Robert Hill) does not itself create offences or obligations but makes those populations subject to any requirements, restrictions or procedures that section 178 imposes, affecting anyone whose activities interact with them."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward exercise of the specific power in section 517(1) of the EPBC Act, which was designed precisely for this purpose—to allow distinct populations to be treated as species for listing and protection purposes. The determination does not expand beyond this original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (under 300 words)","No defined terms section","Single operative provision with straightforward list format","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the enabling section (s 517(1))","No conditional logic or exceptions","Simple administrative determination format"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal decision by the federal Environment Minister from 2001 to treat two specific groups of Grey Nurse Sharks as separate 'species' under Australia's main environmental protection law, even though they are technically the same species (Carcharias taurus).\n\n**What it does:**\n- Recognises the **east coast population** and **west coast population** of Grey Nurse Sharks as distinct 'species' for legal purposes\n- This is done using a special power in the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999* (the EPBC Act) that allows the Minister to treat distinct populations as separate species\n\n**Why this matters:**\n- Under the EPBC Act, 'species' can be listed as threatened (endangered, vulnerable, etc.) and receive legal protection\n- By declaring these populations as separate 'species', the Minister made it possible to list and protect each population individually—even if one was doing okay while the other was in trouble\n- This was particularly important for the east coast population, which was critically endangered and needed specific protection measures\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The sharks themselves (gained stronger legal protection)\n- Fishers, divers, and coastal developers (who must now comply with specific protections for each population)\n- Scientists and conservation managers (who can manage the populations separately based on their different conservation needs)\n\n**In short:** This legal trick allows different groups of the same animal to be protected separately, ensuring a struggling population doesn't miss out on help just because the overall species isn't endangered."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2008b00466","history":"/api/acts/f2008b00466/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2008b00466/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2008b00466/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2008b00466/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2008b00466/documents"}}