A new Commonwealth/WA bilateral agreement on environmental impact assessment

摘要

Chapter 3 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) provides for the making of bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and state or territory governments in respect of the assessment of matters of national environmental significance. The purpose of a bilateral agreement is (among other things) to reduce duplication of the environmental assessment process between the Commonwealth and the states and territories and to ensure that assessment occurs in an efficient, timely and effective manner.1