Last month, Anthony Albanese struck a last‑minute deal with the Greens to secure passage of major reforms to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act before Parliament rises for the summer break. The agreement will fold all 10 of Australia’s Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs) — long‑standing frameworks that govern native and plantation forestry across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia — into the EPBC Act from July 2027.
The government says the reforms strengthen protections for native forests and bushland while excluding fossil‑fuel projects from fast‑track approvals. Forestry groups, however, warn that the changes will expose the sector to environmental litigation, treat native forestry as “high‑risk land‑clearing,” and undermine plantation investment. Meanwhile industry has argued that the loss of RFAs will push Australia toward greater reliance on imported timber from countries with weaker environmental standards.
Below is a Q&A that I have prepared for Timber NSW – the peak body for NSW’s hardwood supply chain, and shared exclusively with Wood Central readers, that looks at the changes under the new act.
Removal of RFA approval exemption in the Environmental Protection, Biodiversity and Conservation Reform Act.
Q: When does the RFA approval exemption under the EPBC Act expire?
A: 30 June 2027
Q: When does the (new) EPBC approval regime commence for current RFA areas within Australia
A: 1 July 2027
Q: What does this mean?
A: For areas within a current RFA: It means business as usual for the year 2026. It means that all RFA approved harvesting under the current arrangements must be completed by 30 June 2027.
For areas without a current RFA: Those areas will be subject to the EPBC Act from 1 December 2025. It means approvals will be required for a forestry operation in these areas.
Definition of a forestry operation at the Commonwealth level.
Q: Is there a new definition for forestry operations?
A: No, it is still the same –forestry operations means any of the following done for commercial purposes:
(a) the planting of trees;
(b) the managing of trees before they are harvested;
(c) the harvesting of forest products;
and includes any related land clearing, land preparation and regeneration (including burning) and transport operations. For the purposes of paragraph (c), forest products means live or dead trees, ferns or shrubs, or parts thereof.
So planting, thinning and harvesting of trees are all separate forestry operations that might require Commonwealth approvals.
Forestry operations with RFA coverage in an RFA area
Q: What forestry operations are covered by an RFA?
A: All RFAs in NSW and Tasmania cover State run native forestry, private owner native forestry and plantations.
Approvals under the EPBC Act
Q: Is it mandatory to obtain an approval under the new EPBC Act?
A: No.
Q: When do you need to obtain an approval?
A: Part 3 of the Act sets out requirements for approvals. An approval is required where a person under takes “an action” that “has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact” on:
- a declared World Heritage property,
- a National Heritage place
- a declared Ramsar wetland
- a listed threatened species or endangered community prohibited without approval
- a listed migratory bird
- radiological exposure (this has been changed from nuclear actions)
- a Commonwealth marine area
- the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
- protection of water resources from unconventional gas development and large coal mining development, and
- actions involving Commonwealth lands.
Q: What does ‘significant impact” mean?
A: The meaning of ‘significant impact”will be prescribed by the Regulations yet to be drafted. The Regulations will authorise the new National Environmental Standards (NES). They are only in the consultation phase at present. They could only be put out for proper consultation once the Act was given Royal Assent (1 December 2025).
Approval
Q: How do you get an approval under the EPBC Act?
A: Under the Act, the approval will be granted by the Minister for the Environment. This Fact sheet suggests an application is made to the federal Minister for the Environment through the federal Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water. There are links to specific forms and sheets at the end of the document.
Action
Q: What is an ‘action’.
A: The EPBC Act defines the word “action” in two ways – what an action is and what an action is not. An action is a project, a development, an undertaking, an activity or series of activities. An action is not a Government decision. The ordinary meaning of the word “action” is “doing or having done something” which would be a good place to start.
Compliance with the EPBC Act
Q: What is required to comply with the EPBC Act?
A: The legislation establishes two steps or tests for compliance. The first step is to determine if an approval is needed by ascertaining if an “action” has, will have or is likely to have, a significant impact on a listed threatened species or endangered community without approval. If the answer is ‘yes’ (or even maybe) then an approval is required under Part 9 of the Act.
Q: What does an approval mean?
A: An approval has conditions of compliance with the NES.
Q: What might be in the NES that covers compliance matters?
A: In the draft NES of Matters of National Environmental Significance, two key phrases are used: ‘net gain ‘and ‘no unacceptable impacts’. In the draft NES (MNES), this phrase is expressed as ‘residual impacts’.
The NES ‘consultation documents’ can be found at here with consultation ending on 30 January 2026. Meanwhile, the NES (MNES) can be viewed here.
Further clarification on this matter, in a question-and-answer format, will be provided later. There are real concerns for further grounds for forestry operation lawfare when the EPBC Act’s sections on the right to obtain a Court injunction are read alongside the draft principles in the NES (MNES)
Approval is required but not needed under the EPBC Act
Q: Are there circumstances when approval is not needed?
A: Yes, Part 4 of the EPBC Act lists such circumstances.
- Where the action is taken in a State and in a class declared by a bilateral agreement between the State and the Commonwealth not requiring approval under Part 9 and the Bilateral Agreement is operative.
- where a Ministerial Declaration is in place that approval is not required under Part 9.
- where a bioregional plan is in operation with a Ministerial Declaration.
- where a Conservation Agreement is in place which provides approval under Part 9, and
- an action undertaken in a zone under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975
Q: What has Minister Watt and Minister Collins said about ‘one stop’ approval under Part 4 of the EPBC Act?
A: Minister Watts and Minister Collins have said there are three pathways:
(1) Accreditation of a RFA with a gap analysis,
(2) strategic assessment of the State policy plan and processes, and
(3) bioregional plan under the EPBC Act.
Q: What is the Government’s objective
A: To achieve the equivalent of the RFA exemption for approval, but that it complies the NES.
Q: In effect, is this any different to what was in the RFA exemption in the previous EPBC Act?
A: No.
The EPBC Act and State Law
Q; Does the EPBC Act impact on the requirement for State Government approvals for a forestry operation.
A: No.
Q: What does the EPBC Act do then?
A: The EPBC Act is legislated on the basis of the foreign treaty power in the Constitution. The Treaties which allow the Commonwealth to legislate are threatened species treaties which extend to the habitat of these species.The States have the legislative power over land use,and this has not been given to the Commonwealth.
The only power the Commonwealth has, is control over the habitat of threatened species and no other vegetation or like materials. For administrative purposes it makes operational sense for the States to administer the Commonwealth law along with State laws. It is complex.
Bilateral agreements.
Q: What administrative function is the Commonwealth likely to use for forestry ?
A: A bilateral agreement.
Q: What exactly is a bilateral agreement?
A: It is a written agreement between the Commonwealth and a State.
Q: What does a bilateral agreement provide for?
A: It provides for one or more of the following:
- protecting the environment
- promoting the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of natural resources
- ensuring an efficient, timely and effective process of environmental assessment and approval of actions.
- minimising duplication in the environment assessment and approval process through Commonwealth accreditation of the processes of the State.
Q: The Act uses the phrase bilaterally accredited management arrangement, what is this?
A: An authorisation process is a bilaterally accredited management arrangement, for the purposes of a bilateral agreement which declares certain actions that do not require approval under Part 9 of the EPBC Act for the purposes of a specified provision in Part 3, except for actions involving water resources.
Q: If a Bilateral Agreement is in place that names forestry operations as a class within the Agreement, will a Part 9 approval be required?
A: No.
Q: If there is no bilateral agreement in place what is needed to commence a forestry operation?
A: Compliance with State Law. Nothing has been altered in this regard. Then, an assessment to ascertain if an approval is required under the EPBC Act. If an approval is needed, an application to the Commonwealth to obtain an approval under the EPBC Act.
Bioregional plans
Q: What is a bioregional plan?
A: It is a map indicating what areas in a region are biodiversity sensitive or excluded from actions.
Q: How is this information to be gathered?
A: It would appear that the Commonwealth will use the information from State Environmental departments.
Q: Does this present a risk?
A.: Yes, as an example, the NSW Koala SEPP maps were significantly inaccurate as the map details for “koala trees” were desktop-assessed and not field-sourced. The maps were ultimately discredited and not relied upon. The State Government is now using heat drones to estimate the population of koalas.
The difference in data from a desktop assessment to heat drone estimations in the case of koalas was 20,000 in 2021, to an estimate of 276,000 in December 2025.
Ministers Watt and Collins have said they are looking at three possible ways to achieve the equivalent of the RFA exemption for approval. Environmentalists will be pushing for bioregional plans to ensure a lock up of as much land as possible.
The Federal Government Plan of 30% by 2030 will be used to lock up 30% of Australia’s land by the year 2030, five years away.
Further details on this will be provided.
Please note: This information has been provided by Timber NSW for publication on Wood Central. Please contact Timber NSW before republishing.
