Environmental legislation
All Australian businesses can play a part in environmental management, but whether environmental laws will affect your business directly will depend on your business activities. Federal, state and local governments jointly administer the environmental protection laws in Australia through bilateral agreements.
The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), administered by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, covers the assessment and approval process of national environmental and cultural concerns. The Department also administers specific Acts that cover activities relating to the sea, importing, heritage issues, hazardous waste and fuel quality.
State and territory environment acts apply to certain business activities and are administered by both state and local governments in the form of licences and permits. For more information on environmental licences and permits, visit our Licences & permits page.
Government agencies and industry groups also have a role in developing voluntary codes of practice that address the industry's impact on the environment.
Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO)
The EEO Program requires businesses that use large amounts of energy to identify, evaluate and report publicly on opportunities to save energy. The program is mandatory for larger businesses that use more than 0.5 petajoules of energy per year, however small businesses are also encouraged to participate.
What to do...
- For information on environmental assessments, visit the Environment portal.
- For more information on environmental licences and permits, visit our Licences & permits topic.
- For information on registering for the EEO program and industry guidelines for energy use, visit the EEO website.
- Use the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' Protected Matters Search Tool to search your local area and see if it's likely to be affected by the national EPBC Act.
- Visit the Environment portal for information on the EPBC Act, approvals, permits and licences.
- Consult an experienced business adviser, accountant or solicitor.
- Find out about environmental legislation and codes of practice in your state or territory.
