MBI Submissions to Draft Environmental Offsets Standard Policy Paper and Draft MNES Standard

MBI suggested improvements to the Environmental Standards for Matters of National Environmental Significance to ensure the reforms achieve the goals they set out to do: to ensure the protection and survival of ecosystems and species.

Project Summary

As part of the government’s reforms to the EPBC Act, DCCEEW seeks to implement Environmental Standards for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) and Environmental Offsets (EO).

These standards seek to deliver stronger environmental protection and restoration, more efficient and robust project assessments, and greater accountability and transparency in environmental decision making. As part of the drafting process, MBI submitted two papers to help refine the proposed Standards to better achieve these aims.

MBI found the anticipated outcomes outlined in both the MNES and EO Standards fail to include measurable environmental outcomes, and instead focus on improvements in procedures.

These procedural standards and offset regimes are unlikely to favourably impact ecological conditions and biodiversity, unless they are explicitly required to.

MBI suggest improvements to the Standards to ensure the reforms achieve the goals they set out to do: to ensure the protection and survival of ecosystems and species.

Outcomes/Activities

DCCEEW will release a revised version of the Standards for consultation at a future date.

• View the MBI submission to the MNES Standard Policy Paper.
• View the MBI Submission EO Standard Policy Paper.