Bilateral agreement made under section 45 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) relating to environmental assessment

This bilateral agreement accredits the Environmental Protection Authority’s Public Environmental Review (PER) and Assessment on Proponent Information - Category A (API-A) levels of assessment. The agreement also accredits the clearing permit assessment process under Part V Division 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

Accreditation of the EPA’s assessment processes means that the Commonwealth can rely on environmental assessments undertaken by the EPA for the purpose of its approval decisions under the EPBC Act on proposals that are likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance. If the EPA assesses a proposal at the level of PER or API-A under the agreement, separate assessment by the Commonwealth is not required.