What it does
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) establishes a comprehensive national framework for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in Australia. At its core, the Act operates through a referral, assessment, and approval regime that targets actions with potential significant impacts on "matters of national environmental significance" (MNES). These MNES are exhaustively defined in Part 3 and include declared World Heritage properties (s.12), National Heritage places (s.15B), Ramsar wetlands (s.16), listed threatened species and ecological communities (s.18), listed migratory species (s.20), the marine environment (s.23), the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (s.24B), water resources from unconventional gas or large coal mining developments (s.24D), nuclear actions (s.21), and certain Commonwealth land or actions (ss.26 and 28).
The Act's primary mechanism is the prohibition on taking a "controlled action" without approval under Part 9. A controlled action is one that has, will have, or is likely to have a significant impact on an MNES (s.67). Proponents must refer proposals to the Minister (ss.68-71), who decides whether the action is controlled and, if so, the appropriate assessment pathway under Part 8 (s.75). Assessment methods range from referral information (Division 3A), preliminary documentation (Division 4), public environment reports (Division 5), environmental impact statements (Division 6), or public inquiries (Division 7). The Minister must then decide whether to approve the action (s.133) and may attach conditions (s.134), having regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development (s.3A), the precautionary principle, and specific requirements for each MNES (ss.136-140A).
Beyond project-level approvals, the Act facilitates strategic assessments (Part 10), allowing endorsement of policies, plans, or programs (s.146) or fisheries management arrangements (ss.147-154) to streamline future approvals. Bilateral agreements with states and territories (Chapter 3) accredit equivalent processes to reduce duplication (ss.45-65A). The Act also establishes strict liability and criminal offences for harming protected matters (e.g. ss.18A, 20A, 22A, 229-229D for cetaceans, 196-196E for threatened species), a permit system for otherwise prohibited activities (ss.200-207, 215-222, 237-244), and critical habitat protection (ss.207A-207C).