Some approval terms for renewable energy projects have changed, with the next tranche of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act reforms coming into effect today.
New provisions are designed to streamline and add flexibility to the project assessment and approval process.
Proponents will now be able to request variations to existing strategic assessments, while projects that have received a ‘not controlled action if taken in a particular manner’ decision may request a reconsideration and make adjustments.
Unused approvals can be surrendered, which the Federal Government said will reduce the compliance burden for stalled projects while also giving communities greater clarity around the current state of a project.
New information sharing arrangements have been introduced “to support faster decision-making under the EPBC Act and greater availability of environmental information”, while First Nations knowledge will now be embedded in decision-making through an expansion of the Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC).
These accompany provisions to have already come into place, including new protections against high-risk tree clearing and a new power for Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt to create national environmental standards.
“Through this next tranche of changes, we are delivering faster, clearer processes to proponents and communities as quickly as possible,” Watt said. “This tranche of reforms is just the beginning, allowing us to ‘switch on’ elements that are ready while continuing to build the larger reform system.
“It will also pave the way for the establishment of Australia’s first National Environmental Protection Agency and head of Environment Information Australia on 1 July 2026.”
The Federal Government said good progress had been made on the National Environmental Standards, with public consultation concerning matters of National Environmental Significance and Environmental Offsets Standards generating significant interest.
“There’s clear interest in this work – my department received approximately 750 submissions from a wide variety of groups and individuals on these two standards alone, which we will take into consideration for the next phase of drafting,” Minister Watt said.
“Work is also progressing on further standards on First Nations engagement, community engagement and data and information.”
EPBC Act reforms passed in the Senate in November, modernising a 25-year-old bill.
Learn more about new EPBC Act provisions here.
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