EPBC Act reforms—progress in the Government's first 100 days

New focus on streamlining reform 6 min read

The reforms to the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (the EPBC Act) have been the subject of significant industry consultation in recent weeks. As the reform agenda progresses, the need to streamline environmental approvals, and remove barriers to productivity and the clean energy transition, will be key.

With the re-elected Labor Government having completed its first 100 days in office following its May 2025 victory, this is an important period for evaluating progress on environmental reform. In our previous Insight, 'A critical time: what's on the horizon for environmental reform and climate policy?', we explored Labor’s campaign commitments and challenges surrounding reforms to the EPBC Act.

Now, we look at the recent developments in relation to these reforms and climate change policy that indicate new momentum from  Government and its commitment to reforming federal environmental laws.

Key takeaways 

• Timing: The new Federal Environment Minister, Senator Murray Watt, has previously confirmed the Government's intention to 'deliver these reforms within the next 18 months'.¹ However, reports published following an industry stakeholder meeting on 13 August 2025 suggest that the Minister has foreshadowed an intention to accelerate the timeframe for delivery, with a single piece of legislation proposed to be introduced to Parliament before the end of the 2025 calendar year.² If this accelerated timing is pursued, policy decisions will need to be made within the coming weeks, so that legislation drafting can progress before the last Parliamentary sitting week, scheduled for November 2025.
• Single reform package to be delivered: The scope of, and ambition for, reform appear to be shifting. The intention seems to be to deliver a single reform package with draft key policies and standards sitting alongside the draft legislation (as opposed to the staggered approach that was put forward in the Government's previous term). The package proposed by previous Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is likely to represent the high-water mark of the reform ambition.
• Streamlining of environmental approvals, and use of AI: There have been significant delays for projects in various States receiving decisions under the EPBC Act referral/approvals process. These delays have been the focus of media attention since the election, and the need to streamline environmental approvals has been a key issue in the stakeholder engagement process. The use of AI has been suggested as a key component in clearing the backlog of housing approvals in particular.
• Tackling environmental reform as a key productivity challenge: There has been considerable discussion of the current EPBC Act regime as a barrier to productivity generally, and to the clean energy transition specifically. The need for reform will be a focus item from a productivity perspective at the Economic Reform Roundtable, which commences on 19 August 2025.

Notable shifts since the May 2025 election

Following the May 2025 election, the new Federal Environment Minister has had significant engagement with stakeholders to re-start discussions around reforms to the EPBC Act. The reform package now seems to be moving at pace.

From those discussions, it appears that the Government is proposing a number of notable shifts in its reform agenda as compared with its previous terms:

• A single legislative package: The Federal Environment Minister has signalled that, given the changed political climate, with Labor beginning a three-year term, the Government intends to pursue a single reform package, as opposed to the staggered rollout of environmental law reforms proposed during Labor’s previous term. While the first stage was legislated before the election, instead of a further four separate pieces of legislation these reforms will be consolidated into one Bill, and the drafting of the National Environment Standards (the NES) (a set of binding standards and enforceable rules to apply to all environmental decision-making nationwide) will occur alongside the drafting of legislation. This may signal a focus of the new Government on the streamlining of existing processes, to reduce duplication and delay, as opposed to wholesale reform.
• Role of a national environment protection agency (the EPA): The Government has committed to establishing a national EPA to consolidate the functions of Australia’s national environmental laws within a single, independent body. While the EPA's specific powers have not yet been confirmed, it will be interesting to see whether the national EPA will have a role in environmental approvals and broader regulatory functions. It remains to be seen whether the Minister will remain the decision-maker under the EPBC Act (and how delegation of decision-making may operate), or whether the EPA will take on the role as a new independent decision-maker.
• Debate on the introduction of a climate trigger: A key issue and point of disagreement that arose during recent consultation was whether a mechanism should be written into the legislation that would allow projects to be rejected due to emissions and impacts on climate— ie whether a 'climate trigger' should be introduced into the legislation. Despite the ongoing debate, the Federal Environment Minister has not expressed any plans to legislate a trigger.
• Changes to environmental offsets and restoration contributions: The Government is seeking to reform the environmental offset arrangements under the EPBC Act, to increase gains for the environment and reduce delays for project developers. No specific information regarding the nature of these changes has been released.

Streamlining approvals for clean energy projects

The Treasurer's recent consultation with stakeholders leading up to the Economic Reform Roundtable, and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy's energy and adaptation roundtable, have been dominated by discussion of the need to overhaul the current environmental approvals regime, with the process being identified as a key barrier to the clean energy transition.

Relevantly, there has been increased recognition since the election that environmental reform is a key productivity challenge for the nation. There is an emphasis on the need to avoid duplication and streamline approval processes, to ensure clean energy projects obtain the necessary approvals in a timely and efficient manner in order realistically to deliver net zero by 2050.

In addition to these discussions, the Productivity Commission's interim report was released on 3 August 2025 (the Interim Report). Its purpose was to investigate 'Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation', and to guide the Economic Reform Roundtable commencing on 19 August 2025.

As part of this work, the Productivity Commission was tasked with identifying priority reforms and developing actionable recommendations. Relevantly, the Interim Report calls for reforms to the EPBC Act, emphasising the need for (among other things):

• fast-tracking the approvals process for clean energy projects;
• the introduction of the NES;
• improving regional planning; and
• setting clear rules about engaging with local communities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Regarding the approvals process and the clean energy transition, the Interim Report makes recommendations for a dedicated team being formed to assess priority clean energy projects, as well as the creation of an independent Clean Energy Coordinator-General to work across government and speed up the approvals for priority projects.

What's next?

The Economic Reform Roundtable is taking place 19–21 August 2025. Discussions on reform of the EPBC Act, approval pathways for clean energy projects, and climate considerations in decision making will be a key focus.

The Productivity Commission is accepting written submissions until 15 September 2025, to inform its final report on investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation.

Given the delays currently being experienced by projects seeking approvals under the EPBC Act, we are encouraged by the Government aiming to make project assessments more efficient. We see benefit in a greater focus by government on better utilising existing regimes within the EPBC Act, such as the strategic assessment frameworks and the bilateral approval processes. The latter would enable 'single desk' approvals processes for coordinated Federal and State/Territory project approval decisions.

We also consider there is a real need for fundamental changes to the current environmental assessment framework, to build in more flexibility within the process. In particular, the reform package would benefit from containing increased flexibility to account for changes in project design, land ownership arrangements and contractual arrangements over the life of a project (including an ability to modify actions already approved under the EPBC Act); and faster and more certain assessment processes, which can currently be stymied by third-party reconsideration requests. It will also be interesting to see what role AI may play in streamlining the approvals process.

We are monitoring announcements in these areas and will provide further updates when more detail becomes available.