On 20 February 2026, the first tranche of reforms to the EPBC Act commenced, as part of a broader set of reforms aimed at reforming national Australian environmental law (Tranche 1 reforms).

Since then, the Australian Government has confirmed a staged rollout of the remaining reforms, including commencement of Tranche 2 on 1 July 2026 and the balance of the reforms on or before 1 December 2026. In April 2026, the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee tabled its report on the EPBC Reform Bill 2025 and related bills (which had since been enacted), broadly supporting the reform package while recommending further consultation and refinement of key elements, particularly the national environmental standards and the changes to the Minister’s ability to exempt a person or action from an approval requirement under Part 3 of the EPBC Act based on the national interest. 

Subsequent to that report, the Minister has progressed consultation on the national environmental standards and on proposals to bring forward some additional provisions aimed at increasing certainty for projects and reducing duplication.

For a recap, key dates for the reforms include:

• 28 November 2025: The Australian Government passed the Environment Protection Reform Bills. Some of the new laws commenced immediately, including transitional arrangements, the Minister’s power to create national environmental standards and tightened rules for some land clearing activities.
   
• 20 February 2026: Tranche 1 reforms commenced, delivering clearer and more flexible processes, better information sharing and more transparent expert advice for decision-makers.
   
• 1 July 2026: Tranche 2 reforms commenced, establishing the National Environmental Protection Agency and enabling the appointment of a head of Environment Information Australia.
   
• On or before 1 December 2026: The remaining reforms will commence, with consultation on implementation detail continuing in the meantime.

The Tranche 1 reforms include changes in relation to: 

• requests for variations to existing strategic assessments;
• reconsideration of 'particular manner' decisions;
• the surrender of unused Part 9 approvals;
• the national interest exemption;
• allowing updates to policies, plans or programs made under Part 10 for strategic assessment;
• new information sharing arrangements; 
• an expansion of the Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC); and
• wildlife trading laws. 

Consultation on the national environmental standards has also progressed, with consultation now finalised for the following exposure drafts:

• Matters of National Environmental Significance;
• Environmental Offsets;
• Community Engagement; and
• Data and Information.

The national environmental standard for First Nations Engagement is not yet ready for consultation.

This article provides a high-level overview of the Tranche 1 reforms and key takeaways from the Senate Committee Report. 

Many of the Tranche 1 changes that came into effect on 20 February 2026 were administrative and procedural in nature, designed to improve the clarity, efficiency and transparency of decision-making under the EPBC Act. 

Variations to strategic assessments 

Strategic assessments identify types of development that are allowed in specific areas, and any conditions that subsequently apply to those areas. The Tranche 1 reforms included changes in relation to strategic assessments, that provide for:

• more clarity around who manages a strategic assessment following its approval;^[1]
• minor changes being able to be made to approvals and approved plans;^[2]
• where appropriate, conditions being able to be varied;^[3] and
• when assessing large coal or unconventional gas projects, the Minister to consider expert scientific advice.^[4]

‘Particular manner’ decisions 

The Minister has the power to deem actions ‘controlled actions’, being that a proposed project or activity that is likely to have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance or Commonwealth land, and can reconsider this decision if they receive substantial new information about the impacts of the action, or there is a substantial change in circumstances.^[5] 

The Minister can also decide that an action is not a controlled action, if the action is taken in a particular manner, and notice is provided under s 77A of the EPBC Act. 

Under the Tranche 1 reforms:

• the Minister can now be asked to reconsider this decision if the ‘particular manner’ of the action is no longer appropriate;^[6]
• the Minister can also allow the project to continue operating during their assessment^[7]; and
• following this reconsideration, the Minister may specify conditions for the action.^[8]

Surrender of Part 9 approval 

To streamline assessment processes under Part 9 of the EPBC Act, and to reduce compliance burdens, approval holders can now surrender their Part 9 approval.^[9] The Minister can agree to accept the surrender, taking into account:

• whether the action has substantially commenced;
• the person or company’s history of environmental compliance; and
• any risks to the environment that could be created by the surrender.^[10]

If the Minister decides to accept the surrender, it must be published on the Department’s website.^[11]

National interest exemption 

The ‘national interest exemption’ under Part 11 of the EPBC Act, allowing the Minister to exempt a person or an action from an approval requirement based on the national interest, has now been recast and expanded into a standalone framework. Now, these exemptions:

• can include conditions to reduce environmental harm;^[12]
• can be made on application or by the Minister’s own initiative;^[13]
• must be time limited and cannot be issued retrospectively or run indefinitely;^[14]
• can be varied or revoked; and 
• must be published by the Minister, and include reasons, conditions and timeframes.^[15]

Indigenous Advisory Committee 

The Tranche 1 reforms have expanded the role of the Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC), outlining and expanding its specific functions.^[16] Upon commencement of further provisions, the IAC will be consulted on making the national environmental standards that relate to engagement with Indigenous persons.^[17] This is intended to increase First Nations’ participation and engagement with decision making, for example, through encouraging sharing cultural knowledge when listing threatened species and ecological communities.^[18] 

Information sharing 

The Tranche 1 reforms updated information sharing laws under the EPBC Act, to support the administration of the Act. 

Information that is collected for the purposes of the EPBC Act will now be able to be shared with other Commonwealth entities, State and Territory government bodies, the National Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Information Australia.^[19] 

Administrative changes to wildlife trade laws

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Australia has international obligations to regulate and control international trade in specimens of listed wild fauna and flora so that such trade is legal, traceable, and biologically sustainable, and does not threaten the survival of species in the wild. The Tranche 1 reforms support these obligations by:

• extending the maximum approval timeframe for wildlife trade operations from 3 to 5 years;^[20]
• directly referencing the official CITES appendices;^[21]
• allowing applications to lapse automatically when requested information is not provided, or enabling applications to be withdrawn;^[22] and
• allowing the use of electronic documentation in addition to paper documents.^[23]

The Report of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee

The Senate Committee’s report provides useful insight into how the EPBC Act reforms are intended to operate in practice, and where further refinement may be expected. Key takeaways from the report include: 

• The Committee broadly endorsed the direction of the EPBC Act reforms, emphasising the need for urgent modernisation of Australia’s environmental laws.^[24]
• The national environmental standards are central to the new framework, with further consultation and refinement recommended to ensure clarity and consistent application.^[25]
• The importance of greater transparency, including clearer reasons for decisions and better alignment between standards, guidance and policy documents.^[26]
• The Committee supported expanded ministerial powers, but with guardrails around the national interest exemption approval pathway.^[27]
• The establishment of the National Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Information Australia was endorsed as key to stronger compliance, enforcement and data integrity.^[28]
• Effective implementation, sequencing and consultation were identified as critical risks as the reforms roll out.^[29]

Key takeaways 

Targeted changes are now in place for approvals, strategic assessments, information sharing and advisory processes to improve efficiency, transparency and decision-making. The Government has also now confirmed the broader reform timetable, with the remaining reforms to commence on or before 1 December 2026. The practical impact of the next stages of reform will depend heavily on the final form of the national environmental standards and on whether the Government proceeds with proposals to bring forward additional provisions dealing with project certainty and duplication reduction.

^{[1] EPBC Act ss 146A and 146CA. 
[2] EPBC Act s 146DH. 
[3] EPBC Act s 146DC. 
[4] EPBC Act s 146C. 
[5] EPBC Act ss 78(1)(a) and (aa). 
[6] EPBC Act s 79A.
[7] EPBC Act s 79E.
[8] EPBC Act s 79E(2). 
[9] EPBC Act s 145AA(1). 
[10] EPBC Act s 145AA(3). 
[11] EPBC Act s 145AA(5).
[12] EPBC Act ss 157H(3)(e) and 157M.
[13] EPBC Act ss 157H(1) and 157K.
[14] EPBC Act ss 157H(3)(d) and 157H(4). 
[15] EPBC Act s 157N. 
[16] EPBC Act s 505B.
[17] EPBC Reform Act s 514YI(1)
[18] EPBC Reform Act s 194L(3). 
[19] EPBC Act ss 515C and 515D. 
[20] EPBC Act s 303FN(6).
[21] EPBC Act s 303CA. 
[22] EPBC Act s303CF(4).
[23] EPBC Act ss 303GK(5) and 303GL(4)
[24] Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (Final Report, April 2026) 115.
[25] Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (Final Report, April 2026) 114.
[26] Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (Final Report, April 2026) 113.
[27] Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (Final Report, April 2026) 114-115.
[28] Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (Final Report, April 2026) 115-118.}