What you need to Know about the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

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• What you need to Know about the Environment
  Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
  (EPBC Act)
• Complying with national environmental law

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• Environment Protection and Biodiversity
  Conservation Act 1999
• Part 3 protects eight matters of National
  Environmental Significance
• Plan works to avoid impacts
• Actions likely to significantly impact must be
  referred
• Big fines, up to 5.5M or 7 years in prison

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Case Example when things go wrong

• A Council undertook roadworks which resulted in
  turning this

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Case Example when things go wrong

• into

Impacted on a legless lizard research site
And headless lizards
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Case Example when things go wrong

• Value of final EU 690,000 included
• 250,000 to be paid to DSE for species recovery.
• 180,000 site rehabilitation and restitution.
• 80,000 for improved Internal Process and
  Initiatives.
• 30,000 Contractor Awareness raising Initiatives.
  
• 150,000 Co-ordinating and Reporting.

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Case Example Near Miss
Case Example Near Miss

• Hamilton Highway, near Cressy

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Avoiding impacts and compliance actions

• Management and staff buy-in
• Environmental Management Systems
• Staff
• Continuous improvement
• 7 Ps

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Significant Impact Test

• Effective application of the Significant Impact
  Test ensures that
• The Commonwealth only becomes involved where
  there is a real risk to environmental matters in
  which it has powers and interests.
• The Commonwealth does not become involved in
  developments where those risks have been
  eliminated by design or by State/Local regulation
  or planning.
• Significance is judged as impacts on whole
  populations, not impacts on individual members of
  a species

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What is/is not an Action?

• An action is a development activity (bulldozing
  native vegetation, undertaking a prescribed
  burn).
• Failure to do something, neglect or omission are
  not actions (eg failure to control weeds,
  control fuel loads, comply with a Fire Prevention
  Notice)
• Decisions are not actions
• Decision by a govt body to grant an approval.
• Planning future road infrastructure.
• Preparing a road management plan.
• A physical interaction or material change to the
  environment

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Exemptions
Not all actions which have the potential to have
a significant impact on MNES will be regulated by
the EPBC Act. Actions approved prior to the
commencement of the EPBC Act Lawful continuation
of use National Emergency declaration by the
Minister
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Approval The Three Step Process
screening phase do we need to assess the
project?
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TOOLS AVAILABLE TO AVOID A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
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Objectives of Compliance

• Guidance
• Transparency
• Predictable
• Rule of Law

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When it all goes pear shaped

• Seek informed advice from experts or the
  department
• Co-operate with enquiries
• Seek legal advice when appropriate