Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy ministers
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    Decorative image

    Australian Energy Employment Report survey

    Share insights to help the energy workforce plan for the future

    Find out more

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Our science strategy
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Decorative image

    Juukan Gorge response

    Read the Australian Government's response to the destruction at Juukan Gorge and the recommendations

    Read the response

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Environment
  3. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
  4. EPBC Act publications and resources
  5. Strategic Assessment under the EPBC Act

Sidebar first - EN - EPBC

  • EPBC Act
    • Our role in protecting the environment
      • What is protected?
      • EPBC Act lists
      • Business improvements
      • Our performance
        • Quarterly performance report
          • Response to 2020 ANAO Audit Report
      • Advisory committees
        • Indigenous Advisory Committee
      • Independent reviews
        • Hawke Review 2008
    • EPBC Act reform
    • Protected Matters Search Tool
    • Referral and assessment
      • Shared assessments with states and territories
        • ACT bilateral agreement
        • NSW bilateral agreement
        • NT bilateral agreement
        • Qld bilateral agreement
        • SA bilateral agreement
        • Tas bilateral agreement
        • Vic bilateral agreement
        • WA bilateral agreement
      • Information about your industry
        • Farmers
        • Mining industry
        • Local governments
        • State agencies
        • Indigenous
        • Commonwealth agencies
      • What are significant impacts?
      • Pre-referral meeting
      • Cost recovery
      • Strategic assessments
      • Environmental offsets under the EPBC Act
        • EPBC Act environmental offsets policy
        • Environmental offsets guidance
          • Offset policy principles
          • Offsets mitigation hierarchy
          • Direct and indirect offsets
          • Advanced environmental offsets
          • Offsets assessment guide
      • Register of exemptions
    • Advice for applicants and approval holders
      • Self assessment
      • Pre-referral meeting
      • Referral applications and proposals
      • Decisions on referred actions
      • Actions without approval
      • Community consultation
      • Surveys and data
      • Bushfires and other natural disasters
      • Action management plans
      • Renewable energy projects
      • Fees, exemptions and waivers
      • Decisions on assessment method
      • Approval notices, conditions and making changes after approval
    • Public comment and decisions
    • Compliance and enforcement
      • Compliance audits
      • Audit outcomes
      • Infringement notices
      • Report a breach
      • Advice for approval holders during COVID-19
    • Permits and other regulation
      • Conservation agreements
    • EPBC Act resources

Strategic Assessment under the EPBC Act

2013
Department of the Environment
Download
Strategic Assessment under the EPBC Act - Brochure (PDF 853.9KB)

As well as dealing with projects on a case-by-case basis, the Australian Minister for the Environment can approve actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) which relate to an endorsed policy, plan or program. These are called strategic assessments.

What is a strategic assessment?

Photo: Cathy Zwick

A strategic assessment happens early in the planning process and examines the potential impacts of actions which might stem from one or more policy, program or plan.

These may include, but are not limited to:

  • local government plans, schemes or policies
  • district structure plans
  • strategic land use plans
  • regional plans and policies
  • local environmental plans
  • fire, vegetation or pest management policies, plans or programs
  • water extraction/use policies
  • statement of planning policies
  • building design policy/guidelines, and
  • infrastructure plans and policies.

Strategic assessments under the EPBC Act mainly involve individuals or agencies such as local councils, state ministers or government departments responsible for implementing the policy, plan or program.

What are the benefits?

Advantages of undertaking a strategic assessment include:

  • early consideration of national environmental matters in planning processes
  • greater certainty to the local communities and developers over future development
  • reduced administrative burden for proponents and government
  • capacity to achieve better environmental outcomes and address cumulative impacts at the landscape level, and
  • flexible timeframes to better meet planning processes.

When is it appropriate?

Strategic assessment can help to address issues such as:

  • region-wide development pressures
  • high growth areas with a large number of projects requiring assessment and approval
  • multiple stakeholders
  • complex, large-scale actions, and
  • cumulative impacts on matters of national environmental significance (NES) protected by the EPBC Act.

What are matters of national environmental significance?

  • world heritage properties
  • national heritage places
  • wetlands of international importance (often called 'Ramsar' wetlands after the international treaty under which such wetlands are listed)
  • nationally threatened species and ecological communities
  • migratory species
  • Commonwealth marine areas
  • the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  • Nuclear actions (including uranium mining)
  • a water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining development.

How does it work?

A strategic assessment includes the following stages:

Flow diagram - Strategic assessment stages

Image text description

  1. Minister enters into an agreement with another person to undertake a strategic assessment on the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program
  2. Terms of Reference (ToR) are prepared for a report on the impacts relating to the agreement
  3. Draft report prepared
  4. Draft report open for public comment for at least 28 days
  5. Minister may recommend modifying the policy, plan or program
  6. Minister may endorse the policy, plan or program if appropriate
  7. Minister may approve actions under the policy, plan or program if appropriate (approval may include conditions)

Note steps 2 - 5 The department provides advice on the development of the policy, plan or program to ensure that significant impacts on matters of national environmental significance (NES) are avoided or mitigated during all of these steps

 

Other strategic approaches under the EPBC Act

The EPBC Act provides several other ways to strategically protect matters of national environmental significance.

Conservation agreements

The Minister can enter into an agreement to protect the conservation of biodiversity, the values and the character of certain matters of national environmental significance in relation to specific activities.

Bilateral agreements

The Minister can enter into an agreement with the states and territories that delegates to them responsibility for assessing and/or granting environmental approvals under the EPBC Act. These are subject to stringent performance requirements.

Bioregional planning

The Minister may prepare a plan for a bioregion that is within, or contains, a Commonwealth area. Bioregional plans enable the ecologically sustainable management of biodiversity, heritage and other values.

Compliance

The Australian Government takes compliance with the EPBC Act seriously. Alleged breaches are investigated.

If you would like to discuss a compliance issue with the Department of the Environment or have reason to believe that the EPBC Act has been, or is likely to be breached:

Phone: 1800 110 395 or
Email: compliance@environment.gov.au or audit@environment.gov.au

For more information

Further information about the EPBC Act is available on the Department of the Environment website www.environment.gov.au/epbc

See also:

Strategic assessment forms and guidelines

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 10 October 2021

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.