Nature Conservation Council
MEDIA RELEASE
27 November 2025
Australia's State and Territory Conservation Councils congratulate the Greens for clawing back some big wins in negotiations with Labor, including removing the Regional Forest Agreement exemption and stopping the fast-tracking of fossil fuel projects.
However, they say the Albanese Government has missed an opportunity to secure nature laws that genuinely safeguard Australia's nature and climate for generations to come.
A deal struck between the Albanese Government and the Greens will ensure reforms to the Environment Protection Conservation and Biodiversity Act 1999 pass the Senate today.
Australia's eight State and Territory conservation councils welcome the changes negotiated by Labor and the Greens to stop fast tracking of new coal and gas projects, restrictions on the delegation of powers to states and territories in some circumstances (including stopping devolution of the "water trigger"), and the closing of deforestation loopholes through Regional Forest Agreements.
However, they remain concerned that the draft laws include new pathways to hand approval powers to states and territories, and to fast track mining and land clearing via a streamlined process.
Australia will have a national Environment Protection Agency, but it will not be fully independent and will act on instructions from the Minister, who has sweeping powers to override departmental and scientific advice.
There are some significant concessions in the deal, including stopping fast-tracking of coal and gas projects, and exempt from the application of new National Interest provisions.
Clearing of regrowth that is more than 15 years old, and clearing within 50 metres of a waterway in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, will no longer be exempt from the EPBC Act under the "continuous use" exemption.
There is also a "call in" power where the Minister can declare that a project needs Commonwealth approval notwithstanding an approval bilateral, and a requirement that a bilateral assessment agreement must be in place before entering into an approval bilateral.
The water trigger, which was created to deliver federal oversight of water resources for projects like fracking, will be retained by the Federal government instead of being headed back to state and territory governments.
Other wins include:
- New national standards on the environment, with legally enforceable rules to protect endangered wildlife and ensure ecologically sustainable development.
- New rules for emissions reporting on big polluting companies
- Excluding specific threatened species from being offset through the Restoration Fund.
- Five yearly reviews to ensure the laws are delivering for communities and the environment.
The state and territory conservation councils created a joint position on the draft bills as part of the current Senate Inquiry, against which we have assessed the new deal.
Environment Centre NT Executive Director Dr Kirsty Howey said:
"While some wins have been clawed back in negotiations with the Greens, the Albanese Government has missed a golden opportunity to secure laws that genuinely safeguard Australia's nature and climate for generations to come.
"Grassroots community and environment groups have had to fight tooth and nail to win concessions from Labor, including retaining federal approval of the water trigger to stop fracking companies from destroying our waterways."
Conservation Council WA Executive Director, Matt Roberts, said:
"We welcome changes to stop the fast-tracking of coal and gas, but this should never have been on the table in the first place."
"We're concerned that these laws will enable the handing of powers to state and territory governments who've been shown they can't be trusted to protect our nature and climate. It is imperative that the federal government retain decision-making powers for destructive projects like the North-West Shelf and Browse Basin."
Conservation Council of the ACT Executive Director, Simon Copland, said:
"The elephant in the room is the huge power these laws vest in the Minister, including to override environmental protections in the national interest and make sweeping rulings. This unacceptably undermines key wins."
"We also oppose the fast-tracking of mining, housing and deforestation via the new "streamlined" assessment pathway, which will significantly curtail community rights to have a say in decisions that affect them."
Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO, Jacqui Mumford, said:
"With the RFA exemption finally removed, we expect this will mean an end to logging in forests that are critical for threatened species across NSW, such as Greater Glider strongholds and the state's remaining koala refuges.
"This is the most significant shift in forest policy in a generation and gives the Minns Government a clear mandate to deliver a fair, planned transition out of native forest logging and into sustainable, plantation-based jobs."
Environment Victoria CEO, Jono la Nauze, said:
"For the first time in history we will have a national Environment Protection Agency with the power to enforce the laws that protect Australia's unique plants and wildlife. This could be undermined, however, if a future government hands decision-making powers back to state governments through proposed devolution measures."
Environment Tasmania CEO, James Overington, said:
"We applaud the persistence of the Greens and also to the members of the ALP who would've pushed hard for nature from the inside. At long last, we will see the end of exemptions for the logging industry. Communities in Tasmania have fought for these changes for decades, and must be congratulated for securing this important win."
Conservation Council of SA CEO, Kirsty Bevan, said:
"We welcome the creation of a new EPA with strong enforcement powers, and the introduction of national standards. The effectiveness of these changes will largely depend on Labor following through with the creation of strong, enforceable standards on matters of national environmental significance.
As the most downstream Basin state, South Australia bears the full consequences of cumulative water extraction, contamination and climate-driven flow reductions and leaving alone the water trigger is a huge relief for South Australia's communities, industries and internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands in the Coorong and Lower Lakes."
Queensland Conservation Council Acting Director, Anthony Gough, said:
"For too long we have witnessed record high deforestation rates that have gone unchecked under broken nature laws. These reforms mark a major milestone on the long-fought community campaign to protect Queensland's forests from out of control land clearing that impacts the Great Barrier Reef."
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