Section 45 — Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: Minister may make agreement

Making bilateral agreement (1) On behalf of the Commonwealth, the Minister may enter into a bilateral agreement. Note 1: A bilateral agreement can detail the level of Commonwealth accreditation of State practices, procedures, processes, systems, management plans and other approaches to environmental protection. Note 2: Subdivision B sets out some prerequisites for entering into bilateral agreements. What is a bilateral agreement? (2) A bilateral agreement is a written agreement between the Commonwealth and a State or a self-governing Territory that: (a) provides for one or more of the following: (i) protecting the environment; (ii) promoting the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of natural resources; (iii) ensuring an efficient, timely and effective process for environmental assessment and approval of actions; (iv) minimising duplication in the environmental assessment and approval process through Commonwealth accreditation of the processes of the State or Territory (or vice versa); and (b) is expressed to be a bilateral agreement. Publishing notice of intention to enter into agreement (3) As soon as practicable after starting the process of developing a draft bilateral agreement with a State or self-governing Territory, the Minister must publish, in accordance with the regulations (if any), notice of his or her intention to develop a draft bilateral agreement with the State or Territory. Publishing bilateral agreements and related material (4) As soon as practicable after entering into a bilateral agreement, the Minister must publish in accordance with the regulations: (a) the agreement; and (b) a statement of the Minister’s reasons for entering into the agreement; and (c) a report on the comments (if any) received on the draft of the agreement published under Subdivision B.