The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) allows bilateral agreements between the Australian and Queensland (Qld) governments. These let us accredit Qld environmental assessment and approval processes.
Bilateral agreements allow each state or territory to assess proposed actions (projects or developments) on behalf of the Australian Government.
They remove the need for a separate assessment, reducing duplication. The Commonwealth Environment minister uses a state or territory's environmental assessment report to inform the final decision about whether to approve an action.
Assessment bilateral agreements have existed with all states and territories since 2015.
Assessment agreement with Qld
Under the assessment bilateral agreement, the Commonwealth minister can use the Qld process to inform an assessment of the impacts of any eligible action.
The original agreement was signed in 2009.
The agreement was varied 3 times until 18 December 2014, when the Qld and Australian governments signed Amending Agreement No 4.
Amending Agreement No 4 (PDF 3 MB)
Amending Agreement No 4 (DOCX 72 KB)
This updated the assessment bilateral agreement made under section 45 of the EPBC Act.
Public consultation
We published the draft assessment bilateral agreement for public comment from 24 October to 21 November 2014. The public consultation process received 17 submissions.
Find out more
Notice of intent to enter into agreement (PDF 16 KB)
Notice of intent to enter into agreement (DOCX 23 KB)
Qld Bilateral Agreement Public Comment report (PDF 119 KB)
Qld Bilateral Agreement Public Comment report (DOCX 28 KB)
The Commonwealth minister's Statement of reasons (PDF 1.3 MB)
The Commonwealth minister's Statement of reasons (DOCX 53 KB)
Get in touch
If you have any questions about bilateral agreements with Queensland:
- Email: epbc.referrals@dcceew.gov.au
- Phone: +61 1800 423 135 between 9 am and 5 pm Canberra time.