Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is an Act

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

of the Parliament of Australia

Parliament of Australia

The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...

that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

and its natural and culturally significant places. Enacted on 17 July 2000, it established a range of processes to help protect and promote the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and preserve significant places from decline.

The EPBC Act established the use of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations, which have provided for the issuing of approvals and permits for a range of activities on Commonwealth land and land affecting the Commonwealth. For example, commercial picking of wildflowers is regulated under the EPBC Act, and cannot be undertaken without an appropriate permit. Failure to comply with the Act can result in penalties including remediation of damage, court injunctions, and criminal and civil penalties.

The Act is administered by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

The Act identifies seven matters of national environmental significance:

World Heritage properties
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
National heritage places
Australian National Heritage List
The Australian National Heritage List is a list of places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia. The list includes natural, historic and indigenous places...

including overseas places of historic significance
Wetlands of international importance (Ramsar
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

wetlands)
Threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...

and ecological communities
Community (ecology)
In ecology, a community is an assemblage of two or more populations of different species occupying the same geographical area. The term community has a variety of uses...
Migratory species
Commonwealth marine areas
Nuclear actions (including uranium mining
Uranium mining
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. The worldwide production of uranium in 2009 amounted to 50,572 tonnes, of which 27% was mined in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia are the top three producers and together account for 63% of world uranium...

& building of nuclear waste repositories )

Lists of threatened species are drawn up under the act, for instance Threatened fauna of Australia, and these lists are the primary reference to threatened species in Australia.

Treaties

As an Act of the Commonwealth (federal) Parliament, it relies for its Constitutional validity upon the legislative powers of the Parliament granted by the Australian Constitution, which does not expressly refer to the environment. As such, key provisions of the EPBC Act are largely based on the following treaties:

World Heritage Convention - The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1975;
the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

- The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat 1975;
The Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...

1992;
JAMBA - Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement;
CAMBA - China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement;
Bonn Convention
Bonn Convention
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range...

- Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals;
CITES - The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1976.

2007 review

A review of the Act and actions taken under the act released by the Australian National Audit Office

Australian National Audit Office

The Australian National Audit Office is the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to Parliament but is administratively located in the Portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet....

(ANAO) in March 2007, the audit is entitled "The Conservation and Protection of National Threatened Species and Ecological Communities". The audit widely criticised the Department of the Environment and Water Resources for inaction with respect to the EPBC; key findings of the audit include:

that the Department has failed to keep the list of threatened species sufficiently up to date and has failed to prepare recovery plans
that there are still inconsistencies between the federal and state and territory lists of threatened species
that due to partial or incorrect information there is a risk incorrect decisions regarding conservation may be made
that the department has been denied funds necessary to meet their obligations under the act by the Government on four occasions.

The Hawke Report

On 31 October 2008 the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts commissioned an independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Australian Government's central piece of environmental legislation. Section 522A of the EPBC Act requires it to be reviewed every 10 years from its commencement.

The review was undertaken by Dr Allan Hawke

Allan Hawke

Allan Douglas Hawke AC is a former Australian senior public servant and diplomat. He was the Chief of Staff to the former Prime Minister, Paul Keating; Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs 1994–1996; Secretary of the Department of Transport and Regional Services 1996–1999; and...

.The aim of the report is to review the performance of the Act and, consistent with the objective of protecting the environment and biological diversity and maintain ecological processes, to recommend reforms that:

promote the sustainability of Australia's economic development
reduce and simplify the regulatory burden
ensure activities under the Act represent the most efficient and *effective ways of achieving desired environmental outcomes
are based on an effective federal arrangement.

The Final Report was delivered to the Minister on 30 October 2009 and publicly released on 21 December 2009.

Related acts

Endangered Species Protection Act 1993
Australian Wildlife Protection Act 1998
Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997, which established the Natural Heritage Trust
Natural Heritage Trust
The Natural Heritage Trust was set up by the Australian Government in 1997 to help restore and conserve Australia's environment and natural resources....

, providing funding

State acts

Threatened Species Protection Act 1995
Threatened Species Protection Act 1995
The Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of threatened native flora and fauna and to enable and promote the...

(TSP Act), Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna....

, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) (FFG Act), Victoria
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

(TSC Act)
Nature Conservation Act 1980, Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
Nature Conservation Act, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2000 (TPWCA), Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
Environment Assessment Act, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

External links

EPBC Act list
The Act is available at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/epabca1999588/
The Hawke Report is available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/review/publications/final-report.html