EPBC Act Reforms 2025: A Guide to the Nature Positive Shift • earthtrade

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 Environment Information Bills, proposes sweeping structural, procedural, and governance changes — with major implications for biodiversity offsets and ecological investment.

The Core of the Reform

The reforms aim to modernise the EPBC Act by creating:

National Environmental Standards — legally binding benchmarks for decision-making, applicable across all jurisdictions and project types.
Regular Reviews and Accountability — every standard must be reviewed within 18 months of implementation, and at least every five years thereafter, to assess whether outcomes and objectives are being met.
Mandatory Application of Standards — decision-makers must apply relevant national standards when assessing or approving activities under the Act.
Improved Transparency and Consultation — greater emphasis on Indigenous engagement, public participation, and the publication of decisions and reviews.

In short, these reforms create a more predictable, measurable, and enforceable system of environmental protection — moving Australia toward a truly “nature positive” regulatory framework.

Implications for Biodiversity Offsets

Under the proposed model:

Biodiversity offsets will operate within a nationally consistent framework, ensuring that the same ecological metrics and governance principles apply across all states and territories.
Offset conditions will be tied to transparent standards and review cycles, reducing uncertainty for developers while elevating long-term ecological accountability.
Proponents will likely need to demonstrate how their actions align with national restoration and recovery priorities, not just local compensation measures.

This is expected to drive a higher-quality, more credible offset market — where verified, enduring outcomes become the standard rather than the exception.

Key takeaways

Project alignment with National Environmental Standards and Bioregional Plans will be a requirement at the very early stages of design.
Nature Positive and Net Gain is already flowing through to approvals today – offsets need to focus on restoration and active management of habitats, beyond just conservation protection.
Monitoring and Reporting results and progress will become increasingly transparent and available to the public.
The system will become naturally (and transparently) evolving as standards are periodically reviewed based on project results.

How We’re Preparing at earthtrade

At earthtrade, we are aligning our advisory and investment strategies to this new reality. Our focus includes:

Integrating national standards into project assessments and offset procurement workflows;
Enhancing monitoring and verification protocols (MRV) to align with the data transparency expectations embedded in the Reform Bill;
Supporting developers in pre-emptively aligning with national standards before they are formally adopted, reducing project risk;
Positioning offset investments as long-term environmental assets that comply with both the forthcoming EPBC framework and the emerging “nature positive” economy.

We see these proposed changes not as obstacles — but as a catalyst for credibility, rigour, and cross-border consistency in Australia’s biodiversity markets.

Closing Thoughts

The EPBC reforms represent a fundamental cultural and procedural shift: from reactive approvals to proactive environmental stewardship.
As Parliament considers these proposals, now is the time for developers, investors, and landholders to understand how these changes will reshape the environmental approvals landscape — and how early alignment can create both regulatory and ecological advantage.

At earthtrade, we’re ready for this evolution — and we’re here to help our clients lead it.

Thomas Key
Director | earthtrade