Inquiry into the Environmental Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills
22 December 2025
The Law Council welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Legislation Committee of the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications regarding its inquiry into the Environmental Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills (the Bills).
This submission is informed by input from the Law Council’s Legal Practice Section Australian Environment Planning and Law Group, the Victorian Bar Association, the New South Wales Bar Association, the Law Society of New South Wales, the Law Society of South Australia, the Queensland Law Society, and the Law Institute of Victoria.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) seeks to protect Australia’s environment and cultural heritage assets, conserve biodiversity and promote ecologically sustainable development by implementing Australia’s international obligations and commitments and ensuring responsible environmental decision making.
As identified by Professor Graeme Samuel’s 2020 Independent Review (the Samuel Review),1 the Act has required significant reform for many years. Having advocated for such reform to the Act,2 including through the implementation of the recommendations of the Samuel Review,3 the Law Council supports the Bills’ objectives to this end.
1 Professor Graeme Samuel AC, Independent Review of the EPBC Act (Samuel Review) (Final Report, October 2020) ii <https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/epbc-act-review-final-reportoctober-2020.pdf>.
2 See, eg, Law Council of Australia, Submission to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Parliament of Australia, Statutory Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (20 April 2020) <https://lawcouncil.au/publicassets/fd93cec8-9383-ea11-9404-005056be13b5/3810%20-%20EPBC%20Act%20Review.pdf>.
Last Updated on 13/01/2026
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