Chapter 5 - Interactions with States and Territories

The EPBC Act is duplicative, inefficient and costly for the environment, business and the community.

The intergovernmental agreements of the 1990s have not delivered an effective framework for cooperation and integration of Commonwealth, State and Territory environmental regulation.

The interaction between Commonwealth and State and Territory laws and regulations leads to duplicative processes. Despite efforts to streamline these processes, significant overlap remains. A continuation of the piecemeal approach is a barrier to improving effectiveness and efficiency.

Past attempts to accredit States and Territories to make approval decisions that are consistent with the EPBC Act have been unsuccessful, due to lack of defined outcomes and concerns that decisions would be inconsistent with the national interest.

Reforms recommended by the Review provide confidence for the Commonwealth to accredit the processes and decision-making of other parties. This includes National Environmental Standards that set clear outcomes, improved data and information, and a comprehensive framework for monitoring and evaluating environmental outcomes.

There should be no barriers to accreditation where a State or Territory can demonstrate they can meet the National Environmental Standards and be subjected to rigorous, independent oversight by the Commonwealth.

Effective accreditation arrangements would enable Commonwealth requirements to be met and to operate in a more integrated way with State and Territory regulation to deliver national environmental and heritage outcomes. Accreditation allows for a single pathway or ‘single-touch’ for development assessment and approval decisions.