Consultation opens on potential changes to Queensland’s Environmental Protection Act 1994

On 10 June 2025, the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (Department) released a consultation paper considering proposed amendments to “realise efficiencies and streamline” the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) and other minor amendments to the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Water Act 2000.

The consultation paper provides details of each proposed amendments. On our review, proposals of particular note include (with cross-references to the relevant section of the consultation paper):

• A proposal to establish mandatory codes of practice to replace the need for an environmental authority for low-risk ERAs [Section 1.1].
• Defining and regulating all ERAs at Regulation level based on the risk of environmental harm posed [Section 1.2].
• Creation of a new subset of environmental values in the EP Act called “State Environmental Protection Priorities” to which administration of the EP Act will have regard and will also be “environmental values” [Section 1.3].
• A mechanism to make “best practice environmental management” codes for specific activities to inform conditions [Section 1.4].
• Creation of sets of “general administrative conditions” to be applied to EAs (mandatory for standard, variation and site-specific applications) that can not be negotiated or changed (Section 1.5).
• Changes to the offence in section 431A of the EP Act regarding the progressive rehabilitation and closure plans (PRCP) [Sections 2.1 and 2.2].
• Extensions of time to submit a PRCP application following transfer of an EA [Section 2.5].
• Amending the EP Act to allow a Court to order forfeiture of property used in the ongoing conduct of an offence under the EP Act and to allow a Court to make orders confiscating proceeds from environmental crimes under the EP Act [Sections 3.2 and 3.3].
• Changing the timeframe to start a proceeding for a summary offence from within one or two years to within five years of the commission of the offence [Section 3.4].
• Amending the EP Act to provide that if an EA amendment application for a major amendment is received, the assessment process stops on the day the administering authority receives a notice of the change, and the process starts again from the beginning of the information stage [Section 3.6].
• Removing the need to undertake public notification of the draft Terms of Reference for an EIS process under the EP Act [Section 3.8].

Consultation is currently open and written submissions may be made until 5pm on 14 July 2025.

Any legislative amendments will need to be the subject of a formal legislative process, including the introduction of a Bill/s to Parliament. It is anticipated that this consultation process will inform the nature of any formal amendments, including whether all proposals outlined are pursued.