By earthtrade | 15 April 2026 | Biodiversity, Offsets, Policy On 13 April 2026, Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki directed the Queensland Productivity Commission to examine how the 2025 changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) are affecting the state. The inquiry will run for 12 months and is open for public submissions. The outcome…
Key Takeaways The Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 (passed 28 November 2025, Royal Assent 1 December 2025) represents the most fundamental overhaul of Australia’s biodiversity offset framework since the EPBC Act commenced in 1999 The new framework shifts from “no net loss” to mandatory “net gain” — developers must deliver quantified biodiversity benefits beyond simply…
Key Takeaways The traditional offset model — developers fund offsets while landholders undertake management — is becoming increasingly impractical under the 2025 reforms, which introduce net gain requirements, 400+ page binding management plans, and new NEPA enforcement Landholders who previously earned $100,000–$150,000 annually from offset agreements now face substantially greater compliance obligations and reduced income…
The changes to the EPBC Act as of 28 November 2025 are the largest public facing changes to the act in its history – since 1999. These changes are fundamentally driven by the fact that the application of the act has become inconsistent, timelines for assessment have blown out, expectations of what developers should be…
The EPBC reform Bills, passed on 28 November 2025, include a new statutory requirement to supply greenhouse‑gas emissions information for projects that proceed to EPBC assessment. In practice, proponents must estimate and report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and include information on measures to reduce and manage those emissions. Some details (formats, thresholds, and timing) will be set…
Regulatory language around biodiversity offsets can be dense and technical. The concepts below are explained in plain English but are consistent with how they are used in Queensland and under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), as well as the proposed “nature positive” reforms currently before the Commonwealth Parliament. (This is…
Understanding the Proposed Changes to the EPBC Act: A Turning Point for Australia’s Biodiversity Framework Australia’s environmental approvals system is on the verge of its most significant reform since the original Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) was introduced in 1999. The new Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, alongside the Nature Positive and…
By Thomas Key, Director at Earthtrade Across Australia’s land management and development sectors, two persistent myths continue to cloud public understanding of biodiversity offsets. Addressing these misconceptions is essential if we are to balance environmental outcomes with economic and agricultural realities. Myth 1: “There Isn’t Enough Land for Biodiversity Offsets” This misconception often surfaces in…
Brisbane-based biodiversity offset specialists Earthtrade have officially expanded operations to England, bringing nearly two decades of experience in environmental market solutions to support the rollout of the UK’s new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation. Since 2007, Earthtrade has advised both public and private organisations on biodiversity offsets, environmental markets, and nature-based investment. With the UK’s…
For more than two decades, biodiversity offsets have been a key compliance requirement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Despite this, misconceptions continue to circulate among developers — with some mistakenly assuming that offsets are optional, can be delayed, or may not apply to their projects. In reality, both the…
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