The federal government has established Australia’s first-ever National Environmental Standards, marking a major milestone in the sweeping overhaul of the nation’s primary environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The creation of the standards addresses a core recommendation from the Samuel Review of the EPBC Act. Designed to protect nature while streamlining project approvals, the frameworks establish legally binding benchmarks to guide future decisions by the newly established, independent National Environmental Protection Agency.
The government has outlined four distinct initial standards:
- Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES): Establishes an overarching framework requiring decision-makers to focus on conservation, restoration, and recovery, while enforcing a strict hierarchy to avoid, mitigate, and repair damage before compensation is considered.
- Environmental Offsets: Mandates that offset activities be feasible, measurable, and additional, ensuring they deliver a net gain for the environment by protecting or restoring the same type of habitat impacted.
- Community Engagement: Defines clear expectations for robust, transparent public consultation.
- Data and Information: Guarantees that environmental approvals are grounded in high-quality, reliable evidence.
Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt noted that the standards are structured so they cannot be weakened or altered to compromise environmental protection or consultation integrity.
“The National Environmental Standards are about protecting our precious environment while powering productivity,” Watt said.
“It’s about turning around nature’s dire trajectory, while simplifying the process to approve the new homes, energy and minerals projects Australia needs.”
The new standards take effect the week of August 24 for new bilateral agreements with states and territories.
However, they will not apply to individual project assessment decisions until December 1, coinciding with the commencement of the new approval tests, streamlined assessment pathways, and bioregional planning improvements.