{"id":"F2019L00954","name":"Amendment to the list of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes under sections 178, 181 and 183 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC153)","slug":"f2019l00954","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":318369,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2019L00954-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Minister for the Environment","sectionType":"part","heading":"Minister for the Environment","content":"# Minister for the Environment\n\n  \nSCHEDULE\n\nTuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) Woodlands and Forests of the Swan Coastal Plain\n\nTuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) Woodlands and Forests of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community occurs in south west Western Australia. It occurs in the Swan Coastal Plain (SWA) bioregion (Interim Biogeographical Regionalisation of Australia, IBRA, Version 7).\n\nThe ecological community is known to occur from near Jurien in the north of the Swan Coastal Plain, to the Sabina River, near Busselton in the south. The ecological community is strongly associated with calcareous soils of the western part of the plain, including those very close to the coast. While it mainly occurs where soils are sandy and well drained, particularly on the Spearwood and Quindalup dune systems, it can also occur in other areas such as on protected swales, saline and freshwater wetlands, close to river banks and on limestone slopes.\n\nThe primary defining feature of the ecological community is the presence of Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart), or hybrids of Tuart, in the uppermost canopy. Various other tree species may co-occur with Tuart. The ecological community varies in structure, with variable height and canopy closure across its range. Thus it can occur in a variety of forms, most commonly open forest, woodland and open woodland, but can also include other forms such as various mallee structural formations. Amongst the other tree species commonly found in the ecological community are Agonis flexuosa (Peppermint) and Banksia grandis (Bull Banksia) (both in the southern part of the range), Banksia attenuata (Candlestick Banksia), Eucalyptus marginata (Jarrah); and less commonly, Corymbia calophylla (Marri), Banksia menziesii (Firewood Banksia) and Banksia prionotes (Acorn Banksia).\n\nAn understorey of native plants, which may include grasses, herbs and shrubs is typically present, although this varies substantially with location and is often modified by disturbance. The ecological community co-exists and sometimes overlaps with some other listed threatened ecological communities.\n\nThe ecological community includes a variety of fauna species, including species that are listed as threatened at a national or state level.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the function intended by the parent Act: adding a specific ecological community to the threatened species list. The detailed descriptive content about flora and fauna associations is standard for this type of instrument and necessary for identification purposes."},"complexity_factors":["Single, discrete administrative action (adding one item to an existing list)","No operative provisions or conditional language — purely descriptive","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the enabling Act citation","Scientific terminology used but explained in accessible language","No defined terms section, penalties, or enforcement mechanisms","Straightforward geographical and biological description without legal tests"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument adds \"Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) Woodlands and Forests of the Swan Coastal Plain\" to Australia’s national list of threatened ecological communities. It brings automatic legal protections, so activities likely to significantly impact this tuart-dominated coastal plain vegetation now require federal assessment and approval.\n\nThat change affects landowners, developers, state/federal agencies, conservation groups and local councils because it restricts clearing and guides planning to help conserve a once-common forest type that has declined from agriculture and urban expansion."},"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":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument expands the statutory scope of the EPBC threatened lists by adding the Tuart Woodlands and Forests of the Swan Coastal Plain as a listed ecological community. That addition brings the described geographic extent and habitat types within the Act's regulatory coverage and creates new mapping, survey and approval obligations for activities affecting those habitats."},"complexity_factors":["Regulatory effect under the EPBC Act (instrument title references ss.178, 181, 183) — listing triggers statutory protections and approval requirements for actions affecting listed communities.","Technical ecological identification: presence of Tuart, hybrids and a suite of associated tree and understorey species requires botanical/ecological expertise.","Geographic specificity using IBRA bioregion (Swan Coastal Plain) and named localities (Jurien to Sabina River) — requires accurate mapping to determine which sites are captured.","Habitat variability and overlap with other listed ecological communities increases classification and boundary uncertainty on a site-by-site basis.","Soil and geomorphology criteria (calcareous soils, Spearwood and Quindalup dune systems, swales, wetlands, limestone slopes) necessitate geophysical/soil assessment for application.","Compliance burden for landowners and proponents: likely need for surveys, mapping, approvals and potential constraints on land use or development where the community is present.","Implementation risk from variable understorey, disturbance-modified sites and the need to distinguish degraded remnants from extant community."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument amends the EPBC Act threatened lists by adding \"Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) Woodlands and Forests of the Swan Coastal Plain\" and describes where it occurs, its defining canopy species (Tuart and hybrids), associated plants, soils and typical forms. It affects landowners, developers and regulators in the Swan Coastal Plain because listing brings the community within EPBC protections and will commonly require mapping, ecological surveys and approvals for activities that may impact the described habitat."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2019l00954","history":"/api/acts/f2019l00954/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2019l00954/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2019l00954/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2019l00954/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2019l00954/documents"}}