Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 161 — Seeking the Minister’s advice
Requirement for referral (1) If a Commonwealth agency or employee of the Commonwealth proposing to give an authorisation (however described) of an action thinks the agency or employee is required by…
Section 161A — Minister may decide that advice is not required
(1) If: (a) the Minister receives a referral under subsection 161(1) of a proposal by a Commonwealth agency or employee of the Commonwealth to give an authorisation of an action; and (b) the Minister…
Section 161B — Certain provisions of other Acts not to apply if Minister decides that advice is not required
(1) This section applies in relation to a provision of another Act that is expressed to apply if: (a) the advice of the Minister is sought under this Subdivision in relation to a proposal to give an…
Section 162 — Assessment of the action
Part 8 (except sections 82, 83 and 84) and the other provisions of this Act (so far as they relate to that Part) apply in relation to the action proposed to be authorised as if: (a) the referral of…
Section 163 — Providing advice
(1) The Minister must give advice on the following matters to the Commonwealth agency or employee of the Commonwealth who referred the proposal to give an authorisation of the action: (a) whether the…
Section 164 — Reporting on response to advice
As soon as practicable after considering the Minister’s advice, the Commonwealth agency or employee of the Commonwealth must give the Minister a report stating: (a) what action has been taken in…
Section 166 — This Subdivision applies if Ministers agree it should
(1) This Subdivision applies if the Minister and a Minister of a State or self-governing Territory agree that it should apply in relation to an action that: (a) is to be taken in the State or…
Section 167 — Making an agreement
Power to make agreement (1) The Minister may make a written agreement with a Minister of a State or self-governing Territory to apply this Subdivision in relation to an action to be taken in the…
Section 168 — Content of an agreement
Generally (1) An agreement to apply this Subdivision in relation to an action must: (a) specify that one of the following is to apply in relation to the action: (i) Division 3A of Part 8; (ii)…
Section 169 — Application of a Division of Part 8
Provisions that apply (1) If the agreement states that a particular Division of Part 8 is to apply in relation to the assessment of an action, the following provisions of this Act (the applied…
Section 170 — Application of Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part 10
If an agreement to apply this Subdivision states that Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part 10 is to apply: (a) that Subdivision applies as if: (i) the reference in subsection 146(1) to relevant…
Section 170A — Publication of information relating to assessments
The Secretary must publish on the internet every week notice of the following: (a) the publication in the immediately preceding week by the Minister under section 45 of a notice of the Minister’s…
Section 170BA — Designated proponent may request Minister to permit commercial-in-confidence information not to be disclosed
(1) This section applies in relation to the assessment documentation that must be published by the designated proponent of an action to which Division 4, 5 or 6 of Part 8 applies. (2) The designated…
Section 170CA — Fees
(1) The Minister may, in writing, determine the amounts of fees that may be charged if the approach for assessing the relevant impacts of an action that the Minister has decided is a controlled…
Section 170B — Information critical to protecting matters of national environmental significance not to be disclosed
(1) The Minister may, by notice in writing to a person, direct the person not to disclose specified information when publishing a document or material as required or permitted by a specified…
Section 170C — Withdrawal of referral of proposal to take an action
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person who: (a) has referred a proposal to take an action to the Minister under section 68; or (b) is named as the person proposing to take an action in a proposal…
Section 170D — References to business days are references to Canberra business days
A reference in this Chapter to a business day is a reference to a day that is a business day in Canberra.
Section 171 — Identifying and monitoring biodiversity
(1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, co-operate with, and give financial or other assistance to, any person for the purpose of identifying and monitoring components of biodiversity.…
Section 172 — Inventories of listed threatened species etc. on Commonwealth land
(1) The Minister may prepare an inventory covering an area of Commonwealth land that identifies, and states the abundance of, the listed threatened species, listed threatened ecological communities,…
Section 173 — Surveys of cetaceans, listed threatened species etc. in Commonwealth marine areas
(1) The Minister may prepare a survey covering a Commonwealth marine area that identifies, and states the extent of the range of, cetaceans, listed threatened species, listed threatened ecological…
Section 174 — Inventories and surveys to be updated
The Minister must take reasonable steps to ensure that the inventories and surveys prepared under this Division are maintained in an up-to-date form.
Section 176 — Bioregional plans
(1) The Minister may prepare a bioregional plan for a bioregion that is within a Commonwealth area. In preparing the plan, the Minister must carry out public consultation on a draft of the plan in…
Section 177 — Obligations under this Act unaffected by lack of bioregional plans
Obligations imposed by this Act are not affected, in their application in relation to Commonwealth areas, by a lack of bioregional plans for those areas.
Section 178 — Listing of threatened species
(1) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, establish a list of threatened species divided into the following categories: (a) extinct; (b) extinct in the wild; (c) critically endangered; (d)…
Section 179 — Categories of threatened species
(1) A native species is eligible to be included in the extinct category at a particular time if, at that time, there is no reasonable doubt that the last member of the species has died. (2) A native…
Section 180 — Native species of marine fish
(1) A native species of marine fish is eligible to be included in a category mentioned in a paragraph of subsection 178(1) at a particular time if, at that time, the species meets the prescribed…
Section 181 — Listing of threatened ecological communities
(1) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, establish a list of threatened ecological communities divided into the following categories: (a) critically endangered; (b) endangered; (c)…
Section 182 — Critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable communities
(1) An ecological community is eligible to be included in the critically endangered category at a particular time if, at that time, it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in…
Section 183 — Listing of key threatening processes
(1) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, establish a list of threatening processes that are key threatening processes. (2) The list, as first established, must contain only the key…
Section 184 — Minister may amend lists
Subject to this Subdivision, the Minister may, by legislative instrument, amend a list referred to in section 178, 181 or 183 by: (a) including items in the list in accordance with Subdivision AA; or…
Section 186 — Amending list of threatened native species
Including native species in a category (1) Subject to subsections (3), (4) and (5), the Minister must not include (whether as a result of a transfer or otherwise) a native species in a particular…
Section 187 — Amending list of ecological communities
Including ecological communities in a category (1) The Minister must not include (whether as a result of a transfer or otherwise) an ecological community in a particular category unless satisfied…
Section 188 — Amending list of key threatening processes
(1) The Minister must not add a threatening process to the list unless satisfied that it is eligible to be treated as a key threatening process. (2) The Minister must not delete a threatening process…
Section 189 — Minister must consider advice from Scientific Committee
(1) In deciding whether to make an amendment covered by paragraph 184(1)(aa), (b) or (d), the Minister must, in accordance with the regulations (if any), obtain and consider advice from the…
Section 189A — Certain information may be kept confidential
(1) This section applies if the Minister considers that the survival of a native species or ecological community could be threatened by the disclosure of some or all of the following information, or…
Section 189B — Disclosure of Scientific Committee’s assessments and advice
(1) A member of the Scientific Committee has a duty not to disclose the following to a person other than the Minister, an employee in the Department whose duties relate to the Committee or another…
Section 190 — Scientific Committee may provide advice about species or communities becoming threatened
(1) If the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that a native species or ecological community is not eligible to be included in any category of the list mentioned in section 178 or 181, the…
Section 192 — Rediscovery of threatened species that were extinct
(1) If the Minister is satisfied that a native species that is listed in the extinct category has been definitely located in nature since it was last listed as extinct, the Minister may, under…
Section 193 — Species posing a serious threat to human health
(1) If the Minister is satisfied that a native species poses a serious threat to human health, the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that the species is not appropriate for inclusion…
Section 194 — Lists must be publicly available
The Minister must ensure that: (a) up-to-date copies of the lists referred to in sections 178, 181 and 183 are available for free to the public on request; and (b) up-to-date copies of the lists are…
Section 194A — Simplified outline
The following is a simplified outline of this Subdivision: This Subdivision sets out the usual process for including an item in a list referred to in section 178, 181 or 183, or transferring an item…
Section 194B — Definitions
(1) In this Subdivision: assessment period has the meaning given by subsection 194C(1). eligible for assessment consideration, in relation to an assessment period, has the meaning given by subsection…
Section 194C — Meaning of assessment period
(1) For the purposes of this Subdivision, each of the following is an assessment period for a Subdivision A List: (a) the period of 12 months starting on the day determined in writing by the Minister…
Section 194D — Minister may determine conservation themes for an assessment period
(1) Before the Minister invites nominations for an assessment period for a Subdivision A List under section 194E, the Minister may determine one or more conservation themes that the Minister…
Section 194E — Minister to invite nominations for each assessment period
(1) Before the start of each assessment period for a Subdivision A List, the Minister must publish a notice inviting people to nominate items for inclusion in the Subdivision A List. Note:…
Section 194F — Minister to give nominations to Scientific Committee
Nominations in relation to first assessment period (1) Within 30 business days after the cut-off date specified in the notice under subsection 194E(1) for the first assessment period, the Minister…
Section 194G — Scientific Committee to prepare proposed priority assessment list
(1) Within 40 business days after the Scientific Committee receives the nominations as required by subsection 194F(1) in relation to an assessment period for a Subdivision A List, the Committee must…
Section 194H — Matters to be included in proposed priority assessment list
(1) The proposed priority assessment list for an assessment period for a Subdivision A List is to include, for each item in the proposed priority assessment list: (a) a description of the item; and…
Section 194J — Statement to be given to Minister with proposed priority assessment list
(1) When the Scientific Committee gives the Minister the proposed priority assessment list for an assessment period for a Subdivision A List, the Committee must also give the Minister a statement…
Section 194K — The finalised priority assessment list
(1) Within 20 business days after the Minister, under section 194G, receives the proposed priority assessment list for an assessment period for a Subdivision A List, the Minister may, in writing,…