In October 2019, the Australian Government announced its once in a decade review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act). This review is undertaken to look at how the Act has been operating and any changes needed for Australia to support ecologically sustainable development into the future. Professor Graeme Samuel AC was appointed as the independent reviewer with an expert panel providing support and advice to him on specific issues.

Over the course of this review, the EIANZ has been advocating strongly on behalf of its members in a bid to help shape this key piece of Australian environmental legislation.

Discussion paper

In November 2019, the Independent Review of the EPBC Act released a discussion paper and invited comments from stakeholders. The EIANZ provided a 42-page submission that was developed by a working group of highly qualified members with extensive experience and endorsed by the Institute Board. The submission provided 11 recommendations on ways the existing regulatory framework could be made to work more effectively in the hope of influencing the development of Prof. Samuel’s report.

Read the eianz submission

Interim report released

In June 2020, Prof. Samuel submitted his Interim Report of the Act calling for a new national environmental standard that set clear rules for environmental protection while allowing for sustainable development. The Samuel Report identified 30 areas for improvement and stated that the current Act is insufficient to protect the environment and Australia’s iconic places in the national interest. The Interim Report also claimed that the operation of the EPBC Act is “archaic, inefficient and not adequate to address today’s environmental challenges let alone the challenges of the future”.

The EIANZ Board welcomed the report and released a statement endorsing the findings of the review.

Read the eianz statement

Government response

In August 2020, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Streamlining Environmental Approvals) Bill 2020 was tabled in the House of Representatives. This move was widely criticised by legal, health and conservation groups as the bill didn’t address the key recommendations in Prof. Samuel’s Interim Report and also replicated a previous bill that did not pass the Senate in 2014. On 1 September, the Federal Government's bid to overhaul national environmental laws was voted down in the Senate, with three crossbench senators (Sterling Griff, Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick) joining Labor and the Greens recommending the bill not be passed. This dissent is consistent with the EIANZ’s position that was presented in our April submission to the Independent Review.

In November 2020, the EIANZ lodged a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee reiterating our support for the National Environmental Standards and the establishment of the independent compliance and enforcement regulator. It also called on the Parliament to not rush legislative reform and to consider the final report of the Samuel Review.

Read the eianz response

Final report

Prof. Samuel provided his Final Report and associated recommendations to the Minister for the Environment in October 2020. The report was publicly released by the Minister in January 2021.

READ THE FINAL REPORT HERE