Governance & Policy
Australia Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)
Australia's primary federal environmental law, requiring approval for actions affecting matters of national environmental significance such as threatened species and world heritage.
Definition
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is Australia's central federal environmental statute. It requires federal assessment and approval for actions likely to significantly impact matters of national environmental significance — including listed threatened species and communities, world heritage properties, Ramsar wetlands and, through the water trigger, coal seam gas impacts on water resources.
Quick reference
At a glance
- Subject
- Governance & Policy
- Editorial status
- Editorial draft
- Definition status
- Established
- Last updated
- 19 August 2026
- Also known as
- EPBC Act · EPBC Act 1999
Overview
What it means
Major projects in Australia face a two-level approval system, with federal consent reserved for nationally significant impacts.
How it is used
Developers refer projects for federal assessment; litigation tests approval conditions; reform debates pursue national standards and an independent EPA.
Why it matters
It governs development pressure on one of the world's most biodiverse continents and is central to Australian nature-law reform.
Review
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