Senator The Hon Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water
The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC, NSW Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage
The Hon Paul Scully MP, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
Major projects in New South Wales will soon benefit from faster, more efficient environmental assessments under new national environmental law, with today marking a milestone towards a new bilateral agreement between the Albanese and Minns Governments.
Public consultation opens today on the proposed assessment bilateral agreement, which will see projects assessed once, against Commonwealth and State environmental requirements, rather than separate assessments by both levels of government.
This is the first new bilateral agreement to reach the public consultation phase following the Albanese Government's landmark reforms to Australia's national environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Bilateral agreements reduce complexity, support faster decision making, lower costs for proponents, all while delivering stronger environmental protections.
The Federal Government will retain responsibility for the final approval decision under national environmental law, and projects will need to meet new tests introduced in the EPBC Act reforms, including new National Environmental Standards.
The new agreement will replace existing arrangements, which pre-date the EPBC Act reforms passed at the end of last year. Consultation on the agreement is open on the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's HaveYour Say website until 5pm on 19 November 2026.
Quotes attributable to Federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt:
"This new agreement with NSW is a big step forward in implementing our historic EPBC reforms."
"It presents a significant opportunity to supercharge economic growth and progress key projects like renewable energy for the state, all while meeting our new, stronger environmental standards.
"By working together, our Governments are taking a significant step towards more streamlined environmental approvals while protecting NSW's biodiversity and heritage.
"NSW is a front-runner when it comes to signing bilateral agreements, and we strongly encourage other States to join us too."
Quote attributable to the NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe:
"We want to protect the natural environment that makes our state so special, while speeding up approvals for things we need, like housing and renewable energy."
"This new agreement with the Federal Government will mean fewer separate processes that add years to approvals while ensuring strong and robust environmental standards are met to protect the habitats our wildlife needs to thrive."
Quotes attributable to the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully:
"The bilateral agreement builds on all the work the Minns Labor Government has done to deliver a faster, fairer and modern planning system that supports housing and energy delivery, encourages job creation, investment and builds better communities."
"This updated agreement will streamline approvals cutting unnecessary delays and duplications in the planning process to deliver faster outcomes for NSW communities."
