Long-awaited reforms to Australia’s environmental laws are set to be introduced in Parliament this week, promising the clarity and momentum both industry and environmental groups have been seeking. For the renewable energy sector, the reforms signal real change:
- streamlined assessments
- fewer duplicated steps, and
- greater certainty in project planning.
In an era defined by the energy transition, these reforms will be crucial in supporting renewable energy projects.
In this second part of our two-part series, we explore the key features we expect to see in Australia’s reformed national environmental laws.
Background
In the first of this two-part series, we considered how proposed reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) came about, why they are needed and how they have evolved. We also identified key areas for reform.
In this second part we take a closer look at those key reform areas, and the impacts they might have on the energy transition.
Details
Federal Minister for Environment and Water, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, is planning a single, comprehensive reform agenda driven by the findings of the 2019-2020 ‘Samuel Review’. There are 6 key reform pillars :
Reducing State and Commonwealth Duplication to Streamline Project Assessments
Under the current regime, proposed projects (including renewable energy projects) need to be comprehensively assessed and approved under State legislation — only to then also require approval under the Federal EPBC Act, with very similar considerations. This duplication can lead to unnecessary administration and delays for project proponents.
Proposed amendments to the EPBC Act will contain mechanisms to remove that duplication, potentially taking years off approval processes and, according to departmental modelling, with a potential saving of up to $7 billion for business.
‘There are very strong economic and productivity reasons for us to get these reforms through Parliament, and we’re certainly hoping and expecting to have support for those reforms from both the Coalition and the Greens’ – Minister Watt, 16 October 2025
Minister Watt has indicated that State approval processes and assessments will likely be accredited for approval at the Federal level, where State processes are in line with the new National Environment Standards (NES). The NES are considered in more detail below. This would be implemented by the Federal Government agreeing with the States approval bilateral agreements, a process that was commenced under the former Morrison coalition government but was not finalised (and was, controversially, being pursued at the time in the absence of NES).
Minister Watt and WA Premier Roger Cook recently jointly announced a commitment to work towards a new bilateral agreement to remove duplication in the approvals system, connected to the broader EPBC Act reforms. This is the first of such announcements and shows that the Federal Government is serious about negotiating new bilateral agreements to remove duplication.
The Federal Government already has assessment bilateral agreements with each of the States and Territories, however, some of these are outdated and do not refer to current State legislative assessment processes or reflect more recent regulatory reforms. For example, the current Queensland bilateral agreement contemplates assessments under the now repealed Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld), instead of the current Planning Act 2016 (Qld) (Planning Act). Given the changes in Queensland’s regulatory landscape, the Queensland bilateral agreement is not currently fit for purpose and will require variation if Queensland is to take advantage of proposed streamlining reforms.
The key to streamlining of approvals under the EPBC Act is to agree upfront the NES, which will set the standard for the States to make approval decisions for matters protected under the EPBC Act. The other important factor is to give guidance to proponents in relation to where new energy infrastructure projects are likely to be acceptable and where they are not. This underlines the important role of regional planning at the State level, which identifies the areas of important biodiversity and habitat, and speaks to and avoids inconsistency with the renewable energy zones that have been developed at a State level for transmission and energy transition planning. The consequences of duplication and delay were made clear recently in New South Wales, where the Barney’s Reef Wind Farm proposal in the Central West Orana renewable energy zone was withdrawn as a result of ‘changing economic and planning requirements’ making it too challenging to proceed.
Better Regional Planning to Support Renewable Energy Planning
Australia’s current environment laws allow for project-by-project assessment and approval, but the Samuel Review identified that they do not consider the cumulative impact of these projects on the environment. The Samuel Review recommended implementing regional plans that support the management of the environment at the landscape scale, and that are consistent with the NES.
One component of current regional planning is the high-level planning for the energy transition that has been done by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in its Integrated System Plans, the most recent being from 2024. These plans identify both transmission infrastructure requirements and renewable energy zones, and the extent of renewable energy projects required in each State and Territory. This high-level energy infrastructure planning needs to be integrated with regional environmental and land use planning by the States and Territories through their own planning processes, as well as the proposed Federal regional planning exercise. The proposed reforms will involve the development of better regional plans, created in collaboration with local communities, landholders, business, government, environmental organisations, Traditional Owners and First Nations peoples, and technical experts. These regional plans will:
- provide better information to enable informed planning and decision-making
- help project proponents to reduce their impacts
- reduce regulatory overlap and duplication
- indicate to project proponents where proposed projects are likely to receive an early ‘no’
- help to protect areas of high conservation priority
- enable better management of cumulative impacts and threats to nature, and
- inform targeted government and private investment in environmental restoration and management.
In a recent address to the Smart Energy Queensland Conference, Minister Watt acknowledged that regional planning will be of ‘particular value’ to the renewable energy sector. Renewable energy project proponents can better understand from the outset where development will not be allowed, and where project assessments can be accelerated to meet renewable energy demands.
As noted above, it will be important to carefully link the regional planning for protection of biodiversity and habitat to the existing renewable energy zones that, in some jurisdictions, are currently going through a process of confirmation and formal recognition through legal instruments.
What might this look like in different States?
Victoria has recently developed a new Plan for Victoria, which sets out the strategic vision for the whole of the State in relation to land use planning and infrastructure. Relevantly, it seeks to preserve natural landscapes and biodiversity by managing sprawl. Plan for Victoria replaces Plan Melbourne, which focused only on metropolitan Melbourne and did not incorporate the key regional cities and rural areas (which were subject to separate land use plans). Planning of electricity infrastructure undertaken by VicGrid, taking over the functions from AEMO, identifies electricity transmission infrastructure and renewable energy zones (REZs) in the Victorian Transmission Plan. These Victorian REZs will receive formal recognition shortly.
In addition, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has been undertaking a biodiversity mapping project to identify key areas of sensitive vegetation that should be protected from future development, in particular, associated with renewable energy and associated transmission infrastructure.
All these different levels of planning need to be considered and integrated with the proposed Federal regional plans to protect matters of national environmental significance and give guidance to proponents of renewable energy infrastructure, where future development is likely to be more acceptable.
The Federal and Victorian Governments have entered into a funding agreement to investigate options for developing 2 pilot regional plans, with a particular focus on renewable energy and critical minerals. The aim of the pilot program is to understand environmental, cultural and heritage values in the pilot areas, to engage partners and stakeholders, and to achieve ‘no regrets’ outcomes in environmental assessments. Victoria has recently conducted a similar planning exercise for the identification and protection of extractive industry and resources, producing a planning practice note on the issue in 2023.
New South Wales introduced regional strategic land-use plans in 2017. These plans set out the vision for coordinated land use, strategic planning, and infrastructure planning in the State across a 20-year period. There is also electricity infrastructure planning under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and NSW Transmission Planning Review, which recently concluded in September 2025. In addition to these strategic plans, the Department of Planning and Environment undertakes biodiversity planning through the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 (NSW). As with Victoria, all these elements of regional planning with connection to renewables infrastructure and environmental issues need to be considered and integrated with the proposed Federal regional plans.
At a Federal level, a pilot regional plan is being developed in relation to the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie regions. Importantly for project developers, the pilot plan will be designed to reduce duplication of effort or confusion for proponents and provide greater certainty. A draft Central Coast Strategic Conservation Plan (CCSCP), made pursuant to an agreement under the existing EPBC Act, has been recently published, with submissions open until 11 November 2025. The draft CCSCP identifies ‘certified land’, where development can proceed without further biodiversity approvals, and ‘non-certified land’, where clearing is restricted and rezoning is limited to conservation or public recreation zones. This reflects the Minister’s language of ‘go’ and ‘no-go’ zones and gives an indication of how regional planning under the EPBC Act reforms could look.
Queensland’s Planning Act provides for regional plans, which are strategic documents which guide land use, infrastructure and natural resource protection matters across a range of local government areas. These plans traditionally form part of the planning process and inform planning decisions.
Separately, Queensland has embarked on a bioregional planning exercise. Bioregional plans are intended to be different from statutory regional plans made under the Planning Act, by focusing on providing improved environmental information to inform decision-making before actions are referred for assessment under the EPBC Act.
Three bioregional plans are currently under preparation, namely urban development in potential future growth areas in Southeast Queensland, wind farm developments in the Collinsville area in North Queensland and minerals mining in the Northwestern Queensland minerals province. Public consultation on these draft bioregional plans is expected in early 2026, with plans being finalised and considered for approval under the EPBC Act in the second half of 2026. It is anticipated these bioregional plans will be made under section 176 of the EPBC Act, which means the Minister must have regard to them in making relevant decisions under the EPBC Act.
Until recently, regional planning for renewable energy was to be supported by ‘renewable energy zones’. Following the release of the Queensland Government’s Energy Roadmap, ‘Regional Energy Hubs’ will replace renewable energy zones. These ‘hubs’ are intended to be market-led and require consideration of broader energy system requirements such as resource availability, existing grid infrastructure and proximity to major load centres.
While each regional planning regime has a different focus, a degree of coordination will be necessary to avoid regulatory complications and regulatory red tape concerns.
Two pilot regional plans, focused on renewable energy and critical minerals, are being developed in South Australia. These plans will cover the Upper Spencer Gulf-Gawler Ranges and the Braemar Province, and they will be designed to identify and protect biodiversity values, provide information to support effective decision-making, and provide a framework for stakeholder consideration and input.
Introduction of National Environmental Standards
The centrepiece of the reforms is the introduction of new NES, as recommended by the Samuel Review, to be applied by decision-makers when assessing activities regulated under the EPBC Act.
The NES will be aimed at improving environmental protection and guiding decision-making, as they will set clear, measurable outcomes for regulated activities. They will be binding and enforceable, and equally applicable in all jurisdictions without the ability to negotiate changes.
Under the shelved reforms, NES were to focus on matters of national environmental significance; First Nations engagement and participation in decision-making; community engagement and consultation; regional planning; environmental offsets; and data and information.
Minister Watt has indicated that 2 initial draft NES are intended to be released with the reform legislation, being an NES for environmental offsets and an NES for matters of national environmental significance. It is currently unclear if all 4 remaining NES contemplated as part of the shelved reforms will also form part of this reform agenda and when additional draft NES will be released. However, we expect the 2 initial NES are likely to be sufficient for starting the process of preparing approval bilateral agreements, although the substance of them may take time to finalise.
Tightening the Offset Regime
The reforms are expected to include changes to the Federal offset regime, which is currently grounded in policy, not law.
In the previous version of the reforms which have now been shelved, the new offset framework was intended to be brought into law via an NES and involve ‘restoration actions’ (i.e. land-based offsets) which would need to have commenced prior to project impacts and which would have needed to deliver a ‘net gain’ (rather than just maintaining the ‘status quo’ environmentally), and ‘restoration contributions’ (i.e. a financial offset) which would have only been available where the impacts were to particular matters of national environmental significance and which was intended to be priced as a last resort.
It is not yet clear whether and how closely Minister Watt’s offset reform agenda will follow what has previously been proposed, although it seems the offset reforms will be achieved through the environmental offsets NES that is being prepared and will still require a ‘net gain’ to be achieved (rather than the current ‘no net loss’ position). We also understand there will be an optional fund established to allow for financial offsets in some capacity and that changes are expected to the advanced offsets policy allowing proponents to bank offsets for future projects.
Ultimately, the focus of the new offset regime will be protecting the environment whilst also reducing delays for project developers.
Working with First Nations Partners
The Samuel Review recommended (and the previous shelved version of the reforms proposed) an NES for Indigenous engagement and participation in decision-making. This NES was expected to set a legally binding ‘bar’ for when and how proponents were required to engage with First Nations peoples for projects (with early and meaningful engagement at the project design stage expected) and a failure to meet that bar was expected to give rise to potential legal challenges against the project under the EPBC Act.
While it is unclear whether the new reforms will set a legally binding bar for First Nations engagement (e.g. through an NES), the reforms are expected to recognise the importance of partnerships with First Nations peoples and, equally, the knowledge First Nations peoples can bring to environmental management and protection.
A National EPA as the ‘Tough Cop on the Beat’
In accordance with the Federal Government’s election commitment, the reforms will establish a National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) with regulatory functions under Australia’s national environmental laws.
Establishing NEPA is designed to:
- increase public confidence and trust in decisions made about the environment; and
- ensure stronger compliance with (and enforcement of) environmental laws and conditions of approvals.
The exact model of the NEPA is still subject to consultation. A NEPA would potentially have powers to undertake compliance, enforcement and assurance activities independent of the Minister; and undertake project assessments where delegated by the Minister. The latter, included in the shelved version of the reforms in 2024, would likely be a sticking point for potential Coalition support of the reforms, with Shadow Minister Angie Bell saying that a Federal EPA should be focused on compliance and enforcement. If, however, the Federal Government sticks to the model proposed by the Samuel Review, the new NEPA will indeed be focused on compliance and enforcement.
Next Steps
Following the August 2025 Economic Reform Roundtable, the Albanese Government accelerated EPBC Act reforms from mid‑2026 to late‑2025.
In early October 2025, Minister Watt indicated reform legislation would be introduced by the end of 2025. Now, Minister Watt is seeking to introduce the legislation by the end of October 2025, with a view to there being a short Senate Committee inquiry on the legislation and the opportunity for the Government to then pass the legislation before Federal Parliament finishes sitting for the 2025 calendar year.
We will continue to monitor and publish about the reform legislation as it is introduced and progresses through Parliament. Industry should monitor the reforms and take up any opportunities to make submissions to the relevant Senate Committee.
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