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Appendix 1: Prototype National Environmental Standard for matters of national environmental significance (MNES). This section provides a prototype standard for the Protection of the Environment from Nuclear Actions. This should be read in conjunction with the overarching standards for MNES and the existing requirements of the EPBC Act.

A short summary of the preliminary views and proposed key reform directions set out in the Interim Report.

The Minister for the Environment appointed Professor Graeme Samuel AC to conduct the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in October 2019. This Interim Report sets out Professor Samuel’s preliminary views on the fundamental inadequacies of the EPBC Act and proposes key reform directions to address them. Interested parties can provide feedback on the Interim Report via a survey.

Stakeholder consultation update

The review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is now complete. The Final Report was provided to the Minister for the Environment on 30 October 2020 and released on 28 January 2021.

Professor Graeme Samuel AC has now provided his Final Report and associated recommendations to the Minister for the Environment. The EPBC Act requires the report to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the Minister receives it. The public release of the report is a matter for Government. Once released, the report will be published on the Review website.

Professor Graeme Samuel AC introduces the Final Report of the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

A short summary of Review and the recommended reforms set out in the Final Report.

A summary that sets out the key problems identified by the Review and the reforms recommend to address these.

The Final Report provides 38 recommendations for reform which should be considered in the context of the relevant chapter of the Report in which they appear. The recommendations in the report are set out in line with 3 tranches: immediate reforms; a second tranche of reform completed within 12 months; and a third and final tranche completed within 2 years. Chapter 12 provides the reform pathway recommended to implement the recommendations.

The Minister for the Environment appointed Professor Graeme Samuel AC to conduct the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in October 2019. Read about the Reviewer, the Expert Panel, and the terms of reference and the Review process.

The environment and our iconic places are in decline and under increasing threat. The EPBC Act is ineffective. The Act is not fit for current or future environmental challenges, including climate change. New legally enforceable National Environmental Standards should be the centrepiece of fundamental reform of the Act.

Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat. The environment is not sufficiently resilient to withstand current, emerging or future threats, including climate change. The environmental trajectory is currently unsustainable.

Managing Australia’s environment is a shared responsibility, but the EPBC Act, and the way it is implemented does not allow the environment to be managed in a holistic way. The Act rarely works in concert with the environmental management responsibilities of the States and Territories. Ecologically sustainable development is a key principle of the Act, but it is not being applied or achieved.

The EPBC Act does not clearly outline its intended outcomes for the environment. The EPBC Act does not enable the Commonwealth to effectively fulfil its environmental management responsibilities to protect nationally important matters. Strategic or systematic approaches to managing or restoring the environment are not used, and cumulative impacts and emerging threats are not adequately managed. The current settings cannot halt the trajectory of environmental decline, let alone reverse it.

New, legally enforceable National Environmental Standards should be made immediately to ensure that decisions clearly support ecologically sustainable development, including the sustainable management of heritage. Standards will be most effective when planning, policies, decisions and funding align to support outcomes. Standards must evolve to enable the Commonwealth to significantly alter the current downward environmental trends and deliver sustainable development outcomes. Matters of national environmental significance should focus on Commonwealth responsibilities resulting from international agreements, national-level priorities and cross-border matters, as was the original intent of the EPBC Act.

The EPBC Act has failed to fulfil its objectives as they relate to the role of Indigenous Australians. A recommended National Environmental Standard for Indigenous engagement and participation in decision-making should be adopted. The suite of national-level laws that protect Indigenous cultural heritage are unsatisfactory and out of step with community expectations. They need comprehensive review.

Although the EPBC Act was world leading when first legislated, it is now dated and does not support best practice for incorporating the rights of Indigenous Australians in decision-making processes. It lags behind best practice within Australia and behind key international commitments Australia has signed. The Australian Government is recognising improved outcomes for Indigenous Australians through enabling co-design and policy implementation with Indigenous Australians. Any reform to the EPBC Act must be conducted in a way that is consistent with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the Council of Australian Governments commitments in the Partnership Agreement for Closing the Gap, and other supporting processes.

The EPBC Act heavily prioritises the views of western science, with Indigenous knowledge and views diminished in the formal provision of advice to decision-makers. This reflects an overall culture of tokenism and symbolism, rather than one of genuine inclusion of Indigenous Australians. A National Environmental Standard for Indigenous engagement and participation in decision-making will ensure that Indigenous Australians that speak for Country have the opportunity to do so, and that their views and knowledge is explicitly considered in decisions in a culturally respectful and transparent way.

The current laws that protect Indigenous cultural heritage in Australia are well behind community expectations. They do not deliver the level of protections that Indigenous Australians and the community expect, and they do not work with the way developments are assessed, approved and conducted. Comprehensive review of national-level Indigenous cultural heritage protection legislation is needed.