Submission to the Senate Inquiry on Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills
The MBI submitted to the Parliament of Australia Environment and Communications Legislation Committee’s Inquiry on Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills.
Research Custer
Systems for Nature-Positive Transitions
Research Partners
Laureate Program on Global Corporate Climate Accountability, University of Melbourne Institute for International Law and the Humanities, Melbourne Climate Futures, Melbourne Centre for Law and the Environment
Project Team
Professor Rebecca Nelson, Dr Rachel Morgain, Professor Brendan Wintle, Dr Lauren Sakae Nishimura, Rebekkah Markey-Towler, Professor Lee Godden, Professor Emily Nicholson, Professor Alice Hughes, Professor Margaret Young, Katherine Quinn (Climateworks), Roanna McClelland, Lara Skerratt
Contact
Project summary
The MBI submitted to the Parliament of Australia Environment and Communications Legislation Committee’s Inquiry on Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills. The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the backbone of environmental protection in Australia, but following the 2020 Samuel Review it has faced criticism for its failure to negotiate the increasing demands upon Australia’s natural environment. Hence, the 2025 reform bills are an opportunity for a fundamental shift in how environmental protection is managed in Australia.
Our MBI submission draws on interdisciplinary evidence-based research at the University of Melbourne, to offer an analysis of the package of proposed reforms to the EPBC Act.
We found significant gaps in the environmental protection offered by the current Bills, in comparison with recent international legal developments such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We identified 9 keys areas of concern, including failure to consider cumulative impacts, need for tighter regulation and protections, greater data and information sharing, and a lack of consideration of climate change and Indigenous values. We provide recommendations based on scientific research to strengthen environmental and biodiversity protection in Australian law.
Outcomes/activities
The new EPBC Act reforms are still in consultation and implementation will continue throughout 2026.