New laws that actually protect nature

Why do we need new environment laws?

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 is the central pillar of Australia’s environment law.

Passed in 1999, the EPBC Act was introduced to make sure important issues are assessed for the harms they could cause to our environment. These are called ‘Matters of National Environmental Significance’ in Act, and include things like threatened plants and animals, Commonwealth Marine Areas, World Heritage places, and Ramsar wetlands.

The scale of our environmental challenges looked quite different 25 years ago. Today, the EPBC Act is broken, outdated and full of holes.

As a result, corporations are taking advantage of our weak laws to trash our forests, communities, wildlife and climate. As a consequence, across the continent, our most important and iconic ecosystems are collapsing. Australia has one of the worst extinction records on Earth. We are global deforestation hotspot alongside Borneo and Brazil.

Right now, our federal government is overhauling our national environment laws for the first time since their creation.

It means we have a once in a generation chance to fix the laws – and make sure they actually protect nature.

Our government has made bold, necessary commitments to turn around the extinction crisis and take action on climate change. Now it's time to turn those promises into law.

If we get this wrong, Australia’s extinction crisis will only get worse, climate harm will remain ignored, and ecosystems across the continent will face collapse.

What will good environmental laws mean?

Flowing rivers teeming with life.

Forests – the lungs of our world – standing tall.

Once-threatened wildlife thriving. Climate harms taken seriously.

Traditional Custodians and local communities working side by side to care for land and water. 

This is what good environment laws make possible. 

Get this right and we'll see:

Native forests and savanna woodlands are protected – and regenerating.

With good laws working well, right across Australia important habitat for threatened species will no longer be logged, cleared, mined or developed – and nor can remnant, old growth or high conservation value bushland.

Landholders, pastoralists and loggers wanting to bulldoze forests and bushland will need to have their plans rigorously and independently assessed against clear, science-based criteria. No political interference. No loopholes. No special deals or payments for destruction.

Once-threatened wildlife is thriving.

No more wildlife will become extinct, thanks to smart recovery plans that identify critical habitat and well-resourced teams that care for and protect them.

No projects will go ahead if they are likely to have an unacceptable impact on a threatened species or the habitat it calls home. And no more impacts will be permitted that reduce the population numbers of species already on the path to extinction.

Healthy ecosystems are teeming with life

Ecosystems are bubbles of life – naturally occurring communities of native plants, animals and other organisms that interact in a unique habitat, which is vital for their survival.

Across Australia, all ecosystems will show measurable recovery and improving environmental indicators.

Our climate starts to stabilise

Climate damage will become a thing of the past. All new fossil fuel projects and expansions are rigorously assessed for their total potential climate impact – including scope 3 emissions from fossil fuels burnt outside of Australia – against a clear, science-based criteria.

No creative accounting. No loopholes. No special deals for political donors.

Communities across Australia meaningfully participate

Communities can easily access information and reliable data, have a real say in clear decision-making processes, and seek independent review of the merits of decisions.

First Nations have legal rights to care for country and culture

First Nations communities are key to decision making with guaranteed free, prior and informed consent. They have legal rights to protect, care for and manage Country and culture.

What are EJA lawyers' key concerns?

Australia's new laws need to end the death-by-a-thousand-cuts crisis our environment is facing.

While the Albanese government's proposed laws have some good parts, this draft needs work. The draft laws have some significant flaws, gaps and loopholes.

As they stand, they will not fix the systemic problems in the existing legal protection framework.

Instead of ending the destruction and reversing the decline, these draft laws risk making matters worse.