The mining industry was the most underestimated land developer in the country according to Brisbane-based biodiversity offsets consultancy earthtrade. Mining proponents were lifting the bar on biodiversity offsets under Australia’s revamped national environment laws, said earthtrade director Alan Key. The Federal Environment Protection Reform Act 2025, which amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act…
Senior figures in the land management sector say tougher federal biodiversity offset requirements are alienating stakeholders. Changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, passed in late 2025 and being phased in through 2026, were pitched as a way to create clearer national rules, strengthen environmental protection and make project assessment more consistent. …
Changes to federal environment protection law is putting land developers in a costly Catch-22, according to Brisbane biodiversity offsets specialist earthtrade. Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), passed by federal parliament in November 2025, were intended to create a more consistent and less time-consuming approvals process. Many proponents were now being asked…
Greenfield developers, including mining and resources proponents, are being urged to scrutinise draft federal environment standards. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water was seeking feedback on the exposure draft of the National Environmental Standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES Standard). Consultation closed in late May. The standard sits under reforms to…
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…
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