Australia’s national environmental law reforms are moving into their next stage, with further changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) scheduled to take effect on or before 1 December 2026. For proponents, November is an opportunity to check whether approval strategies, specialist scopes and project schedules are ready.
The practical question is not simply what the reforms say. It is which requirements apply to your project, when they apply and what evidence you will need.
Here are five checks to prioritise.
1. Confirm your project’s transitional position
Not every project will move into the new framework at the same time.
The Australian Government’s published transitional guidance states that projects already referred when the new laws take effect will continue to be assessed under the existing arrangements, including projects being assessed through current state and territory agreements. Projects not yet referred will need to meet the new requirements, including the National Environmental Standards.
Before changing a lodgement schedule, confirm your project’s referral status and how the transitional provisions apply. A planned referral date is not the same as a completed referral, and a general summary of the reforms is not a substitute for project-specific advice.
The useful output is a documented position that your planning, environmental and project management teams can all work from.
2. Review specialist scopes against the new standards
Four National Environmental Standards have been made, covering matters of national environmental significance, environmental offsets, community engagement, and data and information. Their application to assessments and approval decisions is tied to the commencement of the new approval tests, scheduled on or before 1 December.
For projects entering the new framework, we recommend reviewing commissioned studies against the applicable standards before reports are finalised.
Consider whether your scopes adequately address:
the evidence needed to demonstrate how environmental impacts have been avoided and reduced
any remaining information gaps or survey limitations
the basis for proposed mitigation and offset measures
how supporting data will be recorded, managed and supplied
Identifying gaps now provides an opportunity to adjust investigations and budgets before they become a lodgement issue.
3. Check the evidence behind your engagement
The Community Engagement Standard addresses how proponents engage with communities, encouraging early, open communication and collaborative approaches throughout assessment.
Our practical recommendation is to review more than the consultation calendar. Check whether your records explain who was engaged, what issues they raised, how those issues were considered and what feedback was provided.
Where community input has informed project design or mitigation, make that connection clear. Where a suggestion could not be adopted, record the reasons.
These are useful preparation steps, not a substitute for reviewing the standard’s specific requirements. They also help keep engagement reports, technical assessments and project commitments consistent.
4. Test assumptions about faster assessment
The reforms include a fast-track assessment option for eligible projects that meet the new requirements and provide the necessary information upfront. Fossil fuel projects will not be eligible for that pathway. Preliminary documentation and environmental impact statement pathways will remain available, with changes.
A faster pathway should not be treated as an automatic reduction in your project schedule.
Before revising milestones, confirm eligibility, information requirements and the work needed before an application can proceed. Review specialist availability, survey timing and unresolved design decisions alongside the anticipated regulatory process.
The practical distinction is between a shorter assessment process and a project that is ready to enter it.
5. Watch the NSW assessment arrangements
For NSW proponents, another development warrants attention: consultation on a new draft Commonwealth-NSW assessment bilateral agreement closes at 5pm on 19 November 2026.
The draft sets out how NSW assessment processes could be used to assess projects under the reformed national environmental framework, including the standards. It remains a draft, rather than a final arrangement proponents can assume applies.
Projects planning to use a coordinated state and Commonwealth assessment should monitor the agreement’s finalisation and confirm the applicable process before relying on it in their approval strategy.
Turn the reforms into a project-specific action list
The most useful preparation is a targeted review: confirm the applicable framework, identify evidence gaps, assign responsibility and update the programme.
Bring environmental specialists, planners, engagement practitioners and project managers into that discussion. Doing so can help identify inconsistencies before they become requests for further information or late changes to project documentation.
November is a good time to ask: does our approval strategy still match the requirements our project will actually face?
Based on official information available on 29 October 2026. Commencement details, final instruments and project-specific transitional arrangements should be checked before publication or reliance. This article provides general information, not legal advice.
