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Environment Protection and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act)

This section deals with the principal Commonwealth Act relating to the environment. Following extensive negotiations with the States and Territories, the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation in 1999 to clarify the extent of Commonwealth responsibility for the environment.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (the EPBC Act) implements the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment, which was signed by all three levels of government in 1992. The introduction of the EPBC Act represented the most significant change to Commonwealth environmental laws since the 1970s.

The EPBC Act aims to regulate amongst other issues, Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES). These are set out below.

Environment Protection and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act)  :  Last Revised: Thu May 29th 2014
The content of the Law Handbook is made available as a public service for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. See Disclaimer for details. For free and confidential legal advice in South Australia call 1300 366 424.