Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 515 — Delegation
(1) The Minister may, by signed instrument, delegate all or any of his or her powers or functions under this Act to an officer or employee in the Department or to the Director. The delegate is, in…
Section 515A — Publication of information on the internet
Without limiting the operation of section 170A, the Secretary must publish on the internet each week a list of: (a) all permits issued or granted under this Act in the immediately preceding week; and…
Section 515AA — Delegation by Minister in relation to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
(1) The Minister may, by signed instrument, delegate any or all of his or her powers or functions to which subsection (2) applies to: (a) the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; or (b) the…
Section 515AB — Delegation by Secretary in relation to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
(1) The Secretary may, by signed instrument, delegate any or all of his or her powers or functions to which subsection (2) applies to: (a) the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; or (b) the…
Section 515B — Meaning of certain terms used in this Part
Relevant information (1) Information is relevant information if it is: (a) obtained or generated by an entrusted person under, or in accordance with, this Act or an instrument made under this Act; or…
Section 515C — Disclosure of relevant information to Commonwealth entities
The Minister may disclose relevant information to a Commonwealth entity if the Minister is satisfied the disclosure is for the purposes of assisting the entity to perform its functions or exercise…
Section 515D — Disclosure of relevant information to State or Territory government body
The Minister may disclose relevant information to a State or Territory government body if: (a) the Minister reasonably believes that the disclosure of the information is necessary for the purposes…
Section 515E — Disclosure for the purposes of law enforcement
(1) The Minister may disclose relevant information to a body listed in subsection (2) if: (a) the Minister reasonably believes that the disclosure of the information is necessary for: (i) the…
Section 515F — Use or disclosure to reduce serious risk to human health
The Minister may use or disclose relevant information if the Minister reasonably believes that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious risk to human health.
Section 515G — Use or disclosure to reduce serious risk to the environment
The Minister may use or disclose relevant information if the Minister reasonably believes that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious risk to the environment.
Section 515H — Use or disclosure for the purposes of an Act
An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the use or disclosure is for the purposes of this Act or another Act administered by the Minister, or for the purposes of an instrument…
Section 515J — Disclosure for the purposes of the functions etc. of the CEO
An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to NEPA if the disclosure is for the purposes of assisting in the performance of the CEO’s functions or the exercise of the CEO’s powers under a…
Section 515K — Disclosure for the purposes of the functions etc. of the Head of Environment Information Australia
An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to Environment Information Australia if the disclosure is for the purposes of assisting in the performance of the Head of Environment Information…
Section 515L — Use or disclosure for the purposes of international obligations
An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the use or disclosure is for the purposes of Australia meeting its international obligations.
Section 515M — Use or disclosure of publicly available information
An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information if the information has already been lawfully made available to the public.
Section 515N — Disclosure to person to whom information relates
An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to the person to whom the information relates.
Section 515P — Use or disclosure with consent
An entrusted person may use or disclose relevant information that relates to a person if: (a) the person has consented to the use or disclosure; and (b) the use or disclosure is in accordance with…
Section 515Q — Disclosure to person who provided information
An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to the person who provided the information.
Section 515R — Use or disclosure of summaries or statistics
An entrusted person may use or disclose: (a) summaries of relevant information; or (b) statistics derived from relevant information; if those summaries or statistics do not enable the identification…
Section 515S — Disclosure to a court, tribunal etc.
(1) An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to a court exercising federal jurisdiction. (2) An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to: (a) a court; or (b) a tribunal,…
Section 515T — Use for the purposes of disclosure
An entrusted person may use relevant information for the purpose of disclosing the relevant information under this Division.
Section 515U — Unauthorised use or disclosure of protected information—entrusted person
Unauthorised use or disclosure (1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person is, or has been, an entrusted person; and (b) the person has obtained relevant information in the person’s…
Section 515V — Unauthorised use or disclosure of protected information—official of Commonwealth entity
A person contravenes this section if: (a) the person is, or has been, an official of a Commonwealth entity that is not the Department or NEPA; and (b) the person has obtained relevant information in…
Section 516 — Annual report on operation of Act
(1) The Secretary must, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, prepare and give to the Minister a report on the operation of this Act (except Divisions 4 and 5 of Part 15 and Division 5…
Section 516A — Annual reports to deal with environmental matters
Annual reports for Commonwealth entities (1) The accountable authority of a Commonwealth entity (within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013) must ensure that…
Section 516B — State of the environment reports
(1) The Minister must cause a report on the environment in the Australian jurisdiction to be prepared in accordance with the regulations (if any) every 5 years. The first report must be prepared by…
Section 516C — Protection, conservation, restoration and recovery programs
(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, prescribe one or more programs in relation to the protection, conservation, restoration or recovery of the environment, including in relation to the…
Section 516D — Arrangements relating to protection, conservation, restoration and recovery programs
(1) The Commonwealth may make, vary or administer an arrangement: (a) in relation to the carrying out by a constitutional corporation of its activities under a program prescribed by a legislative…
Section 516E — Terms and conditions relating to protection, conservation, restoration and recovery program arrangements
Arrangements with constitutional corporations (1) The terms and conditions on which money may be payable by the Commonwealth to a constitutional corporation under an arrangement under subsection…
Section 516F — Executive power of the Commonwealth
This Part does not, by implication, limit the executive power of the Commonwealth.
Section 516G — Relationship of this Part with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
Section 23 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with the power of accountable authorities in relation to arrangements and commitments) does not authorise the…
Section 517 — Determinations of species
(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that a distinct population of biological entities is a species for the purposes of this Act. (3) A determination does not apply for the…
Section 517A — Exemption for activities that might harm particular species introduced into particular areas
Provisions for which this section applies (1) This section applies for the purposes of the provisions of the following sections: (a) sections 18 and 18A; (b) sections 20 and 20A; (c) sections 196 to…
Section 518 — Non-compliance with time limits
(1) Anything done by the Commonwealth, the Minister or the Secretary under this Act or the regulations is not invalid merely because it was not done within the period required by this Act or the…
Section 519 — Compensation for acquisition of property
When compensation is necessary (1) If, apart from this section, the operation of this Act would result in an acquisition of property from a person that would be invalid because of paragraph 51(xxxi)…
Section 520 — Regulations
(1) The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters: (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or…
Section 520A — Statements about the application of the Act
(1) The Minister may issue, in writing, statements about the way in which the Minister considers that provisions of the Act or the regulations apply or would apply to: (a) persons generally or a…
Section 521 — Fees and charges must not be taxes
A fee or charge provided for by or under this Act, and whether prescribed by the regulations or not, must be reasonably related to the expenses incurred or to be incurred by the Commonwealth in…
Section 521A — Time does not run if all or part of fee remains unpaid
(1) If: (a) one or more fees are payable in respect of a service the Minister or Secretary provides in performing functions, or exercising powers, under this Act or the regulations; and (b) a…
Section 522 — Financial assistance etc. to be paid out of appropriated money
Payment of amounts of financial assistance under this Act, and of any amounts that the Commonwealth is required to pay to a person under this Act or an agreement made under this Act, are to be made…
Section 522A — Review of operation of Act
(1) The Minister must cause independent reviews to be undertaken by a person or body of: (a) the operation of this Act; and (b) the extent to which the objects of this Act have been achieved. (2) The…
Section 523 — Actions
(1) Subject to this Subdivision, action includes: (a) a project; and (b) a development; and (c) an undertaking; and (d) an activity or series of activities; and (e) an alteration of any of the things…
Section 524 — Things that are not actions
(1) This section applies to a decision by each of the following kinds of person (government body): (a) the Commonwealth; (b) a Commonwealth agency; (c) a State; (d) a self-governing Territory; (e) an…
Section 524A — Provision of grant funding is not an action
Provision of funding by way of a grant by one of the following is not an action: (a) the Commonwealth; (b) a Commonwealth agency; (c) a State; (d) a self-governing Territory; (e) an agency of a State…
Section 525 — Commonwealth areas
What is a Commonwealth area? (1) Each of the following, and any part of it, is a Commonwealth area: (a) land owned by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency and airspace over the land; (b) an area…
Section 526 — Subsidiaries of bodies corporate
The question whether a body corporate is a subsidiary of a body or company is to be determined in the same way as the question whether a body corporate is a subsidiary of another body corporate is…
Section 527 — Convictions
A reference in this Act to a conviction of a person of an offence includes a reference to making an order under section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914 in relation to the person in respect of the offence.
Section 527A — Specimens
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a specimen is: (a) an animal; or (b) animal reproductive material; or (c) the skin, feathers, horns, shell or any other part of an animal; or (d) any article wholly…
Section 527B — Breeding in captivity
For the purposes of this Act, a live animal of a particular kind is taken to have been bred in captivity if, and only if, it was bred in circumstances declared by the regulations to be circumstances…
Section 527C — Artificial propagation
For the purposes of this Act, a live plant of a particular kind is taken to have been artificially propagated if, and only if, it was propagated in circumstances declared by the regulations to be…