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Six months after the long-anticipated amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) received Royal Assent, the next tranche of reforms (Tranche 2) commenced on 1 July 2026, formally establishing the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and the Head of Environment Information Australia (EIA).
Key takeaways
- From 1 July 2026, NEPA is established as an independent Commonwealth agency with responsibility for compliance, enforcement, certain approvals functions and assessment of EPBC Act permits. It will also have approval functions under the EPBC Act under Ministerial delegation.
- The Head of EIA is established, tasked with delivering high-quality environmental data and biennial state of the environment reporting.
- Key substantive amendments – including new tests for unacceptable impacts, net gain offsets, and national environmental standards – are yet to commence, with a deadline of 1 December 2026.
Where have we come from?
On 1 December 2025, the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 (EP Reform Act), the National Environmental Protection Agency Act 2025 (NEPA Act), the Environment Information Australia Act 2025 (EIA Act)and four related Acts received Royal Assent. Together, these represent the most significant reforms to the EPBC Act in its lifetime and reflect recommendations made by Professor Graeme Samuel AC in his Independent Review of the EPBC Act in 2020.
The amendments span a broad range of subject matter, from decision-making criteria, bilateral agreements with States and Territories, strategic assessments and bioregional planning, through to the establishment of new institutional bodies, the nuclear trigger, and management frameworks for heritage and species. The reforms are spread across multiple Acts but are deeply interlinked, and their interaction adds considerable regulatory complexity.
Part of this complexity is the staged commencement of the reforms. Some amendments commenced upon assent, including changes to the ‘grandfathering’ provision in s 43B. On 20 February 2026, Tranche 1 of the amendments commenced, introducing the national environmental standards, amendments to the ‘national interest exemption’, and significant changes to endorsed policy, plan or program approvals.
The next stage of the reforms, Tranche 2, commenced on 1 July 2026.
What commenced on 1 July 2026?
On 1 July 2026, theNEPA Actand EIA Act commenced in full, together with the consequential amendments and transitional provisions of the EP Reform Act.
NEPA is now established as an independent statutory agency, separate from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Under the new framework, NEPA has primary responsibility for:
- compliance and enforcement of the EPBC Act, including auditing;
- assessment and approval of EPBC Act permits;
- monitoring of bilateral agreements, including providing advice to the Minister on State and Territory compliance; and
- where delegated by the Minister, decision-making on approvals (subject to Ministerial direction).
Notably, the CEO of NEPA will also exercise decision-making and compliance functions under a range of other Commonwealth environmental legislation, including the:
- Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989;
- Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018;
- Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981;
- Product Emissions Standards Act 2017;
- Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020;and
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989.
The commencement of the EIA Act enables the appointment of the Head of EIA, a new statutory role tasked with providing the Minister, the CEO of NEPA and the public with access to high-quality environmental information and data. The Head of EIA will also be responsible for preparing state of the environment reports every two years – to which the Minister must formally respond. This represents a significant shift towards transparent, evidence-based environmental decision-making at the Commonwealth level.
What is still to come?
The key substantive amendments are still to commence, however it is expected that there will be a further tranche of amendments in August/September before the substantive amendments commence before 1 December 2026. The Department has indicated on their website that there will be consultation on further elements of the reforms, including new approval pathways later in 2026.
There are key elements that are still to be settled that will inform the amendments, including in particular the offsets calculator, the definition of “net gain” and the finalisation of the national environmental standards. These will all need to be in place prior to the substantive commencement.
It will be important for project proponents to check the transitional provisions and understand how each of amendments apply to existing approvals and processes.
If you want to understand how the proposed amendments impact your existing or future projects, or your role under the EPBC Act, we encourage you to reach out to us and we would be happy to discuss.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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