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» National environmental law - EPBC Act » Carbon farming » Land management » Science » Threatened species and ecological communities » Water use and infrastructure » Wildlife trade » Australia's heritage
National environmental law - EPBC Act

Find information on:
- Farmers and the national environment law (EPBC Act)
- Protected matters on your farm - what is protected?
View more about national environmental law
Farmers and the national environment law (EPBC Act)
The Department recognises the important role farmers, agricultural organisations and natural resource managers play in protecting our environment.
Farmers need to know about Australia’s national environment law as some agricultural activities may need federal government approval. This could be in addition to state or local government approvals.
Protected matters on your farm - what is protected?
National environment law only applies to matters of national environmental significance. You can check if there are likely to be protected matters on or near your property by using the environment reporting tool.
Carbon farming - reducing emissions on the land

Find information on:
- Emissions Reduction Fund
- Climate change in Australia
- Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts
View more about reducing emissions on the land
Emissions Reduction Fund
The Emissions Reduction Fund allows farmers and land managers to earn carbon credits by storing carbon or reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the land.
Climate change in Australia - projections for Australia's NRM regions
Information about observed and projected climate change in Australia.
- Climate change in Australia
- Regional Climate Change Explorer - climate change projections for Australian regions
Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts
The Department publishes Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts, which track national emissions – including from the land sector - from 1990 onwards.
- Tracking Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
- Search online - Australian Greenhouse Emissions Information System (AGEIS)
Land management

Find information on land management including:
- the National Landcare Program
- 20 million trees
View more about land management
National Landcare Program
The National Landcare Program will support sustainable land management practices to deliver long-term benefits to our communities, our environment, our economy and our country.
20 Million Trees
The Australian Government will work with the community to plant 20 million trees by 2020, to re-establish green corridors and urban forests. The programme will involve competitive grants, delivered by individuals and organisations, and larger-scale plantings, delivered by service providers
More resources
- Australia's biodiversity conservation strategy
- Coal, Coal seam gas and water
- Native vegetation - Native vegetation framework
Programs
Science

Find information on:
- National Environmental Science Programme
- Climate science
View more about science programs
National Environmental Science Program
The National Environmental Science Program will assist decision-makers to understand, manage and conserve Australia’s environment by funding world-class biodiversity and climate science. The program brings together the Australian Climate Change Science Program and the National Environmental Research Program.
Climate science
The Australian Climate Change Science Programme and the national framework for climate change science focus on delivering policy and governance arrangements, and providing essential systems knowledge.
More resources
- Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development
- Threatened Species Scientific Committee
Threatened species and ecological communities

Find out about:
- Threatened species and ecological communities
- Threat abatement advices and plans
- Invasive species
- Threatened Species Scientific Committee:
- Threatened Species Commissioner
View more about threatened species and ecological communities
Threatened species and ecological communities
The Australian Government is working in partnership with state, territory and local governments, non-government organisations, tertiary institutions and community groups to ensure the protection of our native species.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) protects Australia's native species and ecological communities by providing for:
- identification and listing of species and ecological communities as threatened
- development of conservation advice and recovery plans for listed species and ecological communities
- development of a register of critical habitat
- recognition of key threatening processes
- where appropriate, reducing the impacts of these processes through threat abatement plans and non-statutory threat abatement advices
Search online
- Search online - SPRAT - Species Profile and Threats Database
SPRAT is designed to provide information about species and ecological communities listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 - Search online - Conservation Advices and Recovery Plans by NRM Region
The NRM region Search Module will display EPBC listed species or ecological communities for which a Conservation Advice or Recovery Plan is available
Invasive species
Information about diseases, fungi and parasites, insects and other intertebrates, and feral animals in Australia - cane toads, feral cats and feral pigs.
Weeds
Invasive weeds are among the most serious threats to Australia's natural environment and primary production industries. They displace native species, contribute significantly to land degradation, and reduce farm and forest productivity.
Threatened Species Commissioner
The commissioner works collaboratively with the national Threatened Species Scientific Committee and the community, including the non-profit sector, industry, scientists and all levels of government to broker solutions that avoid the extinction of Australia’s native species.
Threatened Species Scientific Committee
The committee advises the Minister on the amendment and updating of lists for threatened species, threatened ecological communities, and key threatening processes together with the making or adoption of recovery plans and threat abatement plans.
Resources lists
- EPBC Act Resources list - EPBC Act, policy statements on protected matters, grasslands and woodlands fact sheets
- Invasive species publications
- Threatened species and ecological communities publications
Water use and infrastructure

Find information on:
- The Basin Plan
- Coal, Coal seam gas and water
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
- Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure
- On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program
- Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program in New South Wales
- Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin - Water entitlement purchasing
- Wetlands
- Great Barrier Reef
View more about water use and infrastructure
Basin Plan
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan delivers on the Australian Government's commitment to restore the Basin's rivers and wetlands to health while supporting strong regional communities and sustainable food production.
Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, supported by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, manages the Commonwealth’s environmental water portfolio, research projects that inform approaches to aquatic ecosystems and environmental watering policy, and major projects to improve water quality and the ecological health of iconic wetland assets in the Murray Darling Basin.
Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure
Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure is a national programme investing in rural water use, management and efficiency, including improved water knowledge and market reform, and water purchase for the environment
On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program
The On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program is aimed at assisting irrigators within the southern connected system of the Murray-Darling Basin to modernise their on-farm irrigation infrastructure while returning water savings to the environment
Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program in New South Wales
The Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program (PIIOP) in New South Wales aims to improve the efficiency and productivity of water use and management of private irrigation networks and deliver water savings for the environment.
Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin - Water entitlement purchasing
Water buybacks obtain water for the environment from irrigators who wish to offer their water entitlement for sale.
Wetlands
Many different types of organisations and people look after wetlands, from the Australian Government to individual landowners. There are specific roles and responsibilities outlined in the Ramsar Convention, as well as national and state legislation, regarding how Ramsar and other wetlands are managed
- Wetlands
- Wetlands in Australia - roles and responsibilities
- Wetlands Australia (includes several feature articles on wetlands and agriculture)
- Wetlands and Agriculture
- Search online - Australian Wetlands Database
Coal, Coal seam gas and water
The Australian Government plays an important role in protecting our environment from potential impacts of development activity, with a focus on matters of national environmental significance.
The Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (the IESC) provides scientific advice to decision makers on the impact that coal seam gas and large coal mining development may have on Australia's water resources.
- More about the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development
- Committee publications
Bioregional assessments
Bioregional assessments are being undertaken in up to 15 subregions within New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. The assessments will provide baseline information on the ecology, hydrology, geology and hydrogeology in a particular geographic region, and an assessment of the cumulative impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining developments on water related assets.
Great Barrier Reef
The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is the overarching framework for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef from 2015 to 2050.
- Managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef
- Reef Trust Investments - sugar cane farmers
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Wildlife trade

Find information on:
- Wildlife trade management plans
- Commercial harvesting of native animals
View more about wildlife trade
Wildlife trade management plans
If you want to export for commercial purposes an Australian native wildlife specimen (unless exempt) and/or CITES-listed specimen sourced from Australia, it must come from an approved program such as a wildlife trade management plan.
Commercial harvesting of native animals
Information about wild harvest of kangaroos and wallabies, wild harvest and farming of crocodiles, and wild harvest of Tasmanian common brushtail possums.
- Wild harvest of kangaroos, wallabies, crocodiles and possums - codes of practice
Australia's heritage

Find information on.
- Heritage places
- Australian Heritage Database
View more about Australia's heritage
Australia's heritage places
Information about natural, historic and Indigenous heritage places throughout Australia.