{"id":"F2026L00230","name":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (List of Threatened Ecological Communities (EC186)) Instrument 20266","slug":"f2026l00230","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":443179,"registerId":"F2026L00230-fast-fetch-1775958085792","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (List of Threatened Ecological Communities (EC186)) Instrument 20266","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (List of Threatened Ecological Communities (EC186)) Instrument 2026\n\nI, Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water, make the following instrument.\n\nDated  4 March 2026\n\nMurray Watt\n\nMurray Watt\n\nMinister for the Environment and Water\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Schedules\n\nSchedule 1—Amendments\n\nDeclaration under s178, s181, and s183 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 - List of threatened species, List of threatened ecological communities and List of threatening processes\n\nSchedule 2— Description of ecological community\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (List of Threatened Ecological Communities (EC186)) Instrument 20266\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 184 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in Schedule 1 to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\nSchedule 1—Amendments\n\nDeclaration under s178, s181, and s183 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 - List of threatened species, List of threatened ecological communities and List of threatening processes\n\n1  In the appropriate position under the category heading “ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED”\n\nInsert the following ecological community:\n\n (a) Illawarra-Shoalhaven shrublands on volcanic outcrops\n\nSchedule 2— Description of ecological community\n\nIllawarra-Shoalhaven shrublands on volcanic outcrops\n\n \n\nThe ecological community is the assemblage of plants, animals and other organisms associated with and dependent upon, a type of dense (at times patchy) shrubland typically dominated by Melaleuca armillaris (bracelet honey-myrtle) or Kunzea ambigua (tick bush). Acacia spp. (wattle) and Platysace lanceolata (shrubby platysace) can dominate or co-dominate the canopy in certain locations, particularly after disturbance events such as fire.\n\nIllawarra-Shoalhaven shrublands on volcanic outcrops occur from south of Wollongong to north of Bateman’s Bay and is restricted to exposures of igneous rocky outcrops with shallow soils, typically associated with Bumbo Latite and Milton Monzonite but may occur on other igneous substrates such as Termeil Essexite. It mostly occurs on ridgetops, hills, benches and slopes between the coastal escarpment (the Great Eastern Escarpment) and the sea. Rocky outcrops can also support moist areas, for example, near creeks or where soils are less skeletal, where rocks provide protection and the shrub canopy is dense.\n\nThe diversity within the shrub layer varies but can include other shrub and small tree species such as Acacia mearnsii (black wattle), A. parramattensis (Parramatta wattle), A. parvipinnula (silver-stemmed wattle), Indigofera australis (Australian indigo) and Notelaea venosa (smooth mock-olive). Trees can occur as sparse or scattered emergents or on the margins of the ecological community and may include Acacia implexa (hickory wattle), Alphitonia excelsa (red ash), Eucalyptus tereticornis (forest red gum) and Pittosporum undulatum (sweet pittosporum).\n\nThe understorey supports greater floristic diversity and can vary from shrubby to grassy. A low shrub layer typically includes Styphelia sieberi (long-flower beard-heath) as a sub-dominant species. Other species may include Breynia oblongifolia (coffee bush), Coleus graveolens (fragrant spur-flower), Hibiscus heterophyllus subsp. heterophyllus (native rosella), Indigofera australis (Australian indigo), Prostanthera nivea (snowy mint-bush), Solanum celatum, S. vescum (gunyang, green kangaroo apple), Phyllanthus gunnii (scrubby spurge) P. parviflorus (cockspur flower) and Zieria granulata (Illawarra zieria).\n\nHerbaceous species may include Calandrinia pickeringii (pink purslane), Commelina cyanea (scurvy weed), Crassula sieberana (austral stonecrop), Euchiton japonicus (clustered/creeping cudweed), Pelargonium inodorum (kapota), Scaevola aemula (fairy fanflower), Veronica plebeia (trailing speedwell), Xerochrysum bracteatum (golden everlasting) and Irenepharsus trypherus (Illawarra Irene). Orchids and lilies may occur, such as Arthropodium minus (small vanilla-lily), Caesia parviflora (pale grass-lily), Caladenia tessellata (thick-lipped spider orchid), Calochilus pulchellus (pretty beard orchid), Dianella longifolia (flax lily) and Geitonoplesium cymosum (scrambling lily).\n\nGrasses can occur particularly where the shrub canopy is less dense. Ferns may be present, such as Asplenium flabellifolium (necklace fern), Cheilanthes distans (bristly cloak fern), C. sieberi (mulga fern) and Pellaea falcata (sickle fern). Moist areas of the ecological community can include mosses and sundews. Twining species may be present in the understorey and/or canopy.\n\nThe ecological community includes a variety of fauna species, including several species that are listed as threatened at a national or state level.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not change the statutory scope of the EPBC Act. It performs a targeted amendment by adding a defined ecological community to the list of critically endangered communities (Schedule 1) and supplies a descriptive boundary and species composition (Schedule 2), operating within the Act’s existing listing and assessment framework (authority under s184)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, single-purpose change: inserts one ecological community into the EPBC Act lists (Schedule 1 item).","Straightforward legal basis and timing: instrument made under s184 of the EPBC Act and commences day after registration (ss 2–3).","Technical ecological description: Schedule 2 contains detailed botanical and habitat detail that practitioners must use to identify the community on the ground.","Practical identification burden: mapping and field identification will be required to determine which parcels are affected (implementation complexity despite simple legal change).","Downstream regulatory effects: listing triggers EPBC Act significance assessment and approval processes, creating compliance and potential permit costs for proponents and landholders.","Administrative discretion in impact assessment: application of ‘significant impact’ tests under the EPBC Act can involve judgment by officials, leading to case‑by‑case regulatory outcomes."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 lists by adding “Illawarra‑Shoalhaven shrublands on volcanic outcrops” as a critically endangered ecological community and commences the day after registration. It affects landowners, developers, conservation managers and government agencies in the named coastal region because actions likely to have a significant impact on that community will attract EPBC Act assessment and approval requirements, creating compliance obligations and influencing land‑use decisions and project planning."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the function intended by the parent Act's framework: adding a specific ecological community to the threatened list based on scientific assessment. The scope remains tightly confined to this single listing action with no expansion into adjacent policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Single, straightforward amendment adding one ecological community to an existing list","No defined terms section — relies entirely on external definitions in the parent Act","Minimal conditional logic (only standard commencement provision)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the enabling section (s184) and the amended instrument","Schedule 2 contains descriptive botanical content rather than legal operative provisions","Total length is approximately 2 pages with simple structure (Name, Commencement, Authority, Schedules)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument lists \"Illawarra–Shoalhaven shrublands on volcanic outcrops\" as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. \n\nThat means activities affecting this distinctive volcanic‑outcrop shrubland (and its dependent plants and animals) in the Illawarra–Shoalhaven region now face stricter federal scrutiny and may require approval, directing legal safeguards and conservation attention to prevent its loss."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/f2026l00230","history":"/api/acts/f2026l00230/history","analysis":"/api/acts/f2026l00230/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/f2026l00230/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/f2026l00230/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/f2026l00230/documents"}}