Environmental Protection (Efficiency and Streamlining) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill reforms Queensland's environmental regulation to reduce red tape and improve responsiveness. It introduces a new risk-based system for classifying and regulating environmentally relevant activities, streamlines environmental impact assessments, strengthens groundwater protections for bore owners, and creates a single permit for tourism operators working across multiple public land tenures.
Who it affects
Mining operators, tourism businesses on public land, bore owners near resource projects, and environmental authority holders are most affected. Small-scale miners will see reduced regulatory burden and refunded sureties, while bore owners gain stronger rights to have water impacts assessed and addressed.
Environmental activity regulation reform
The bill replaces the current mixed system for regulating environmentally relevant activities with a consistent risk-based framework. Lower-risk activities can now operate under standardised ERA codes instead of needing individual environmental authorities, reducing costs and paperwork.
- New ERA codes replace individual environmental authorities for lower-risk activities
- Small-scale miners no longer need to pay financial sureties — over 3,000 existing sureties will be refunded
- Operators have 12 months to transition to the new framework, with the option to keep their existing environmental authority
- PRCP audits become discretionary rather than mandatory every three years
Environmental impact assessment streamlining
The bill removes duplicative steps from the environmental impact statement process and recognises impact assessment reports completed under other legislation, so proponents do not have to repeat the same assessments twice.
- Draft terms of reference for environmental impact statements no longer need to be publicly notified separately
- Impact assessment reports under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act are now recognised by the Environmental Protection Act
- Public interest evaluation process for progressive rehabilitation and closure plans is removed
Compliance and enforcement
Time limits for prosecuting environmental offences are extended to allow for complex investigations, and courts gain new powers to order forfeiture of property used to commit offences.
- Time limit for summary proceedings extended from 1 year to 2 years (3 years for serious offences)
- Courts can order forfeiture of property used to commit environmental offences
- Improved procedures for securing and returning seized evidence
- Conservation officers gain investigation powers for koala habitat development offences
Groundwater and bore owner protections
The bill strengthens protections for bore owners affected by mining and gas activities by improving reporting requirements, clarifying make-good agreements, and giving bore owners the right to request bore assessments.
- Underground water impact reports now required every 5 years instead of 3, with a new baseline assessment strategy for cumulative management areas
- Bore owners can request the chief executive to direct a tenure holder to assess their bore
- Tenure holders must report annually to OGIA on make-good obligations
- Make-good agreements clarified to focus on water supply capacity and impacts
Tourism single integrated permission
Tourism operators who currently need separate permits for national parks, state forests, recreation areas and marine parks will be able to get a single integrated permission covering all locations, with one fee and one expiry date.
- Single integrated permission covers protected areas, state forests, recreation areas and state marine parks
- Commercial activity permit term for recreation areas increased from 3 to 5 years
- Commercial activity agreements formalised in the Forestry Act with a maximum 15-year term
- Existing permits and agreements automatically transition to the new framework
Bill Journey
▸Committee20 Nov 2025View Hansard
Referred to Health, Environment and Innovation Committee
5 members · Chair: Robert Molhoek
The Health, Environment and Innovation Committee examined the bill and recommended it be passed. The committee's review focused on proposals to introduce General Environmental Duty (GED) Codes, streamline environmental approvals for environmentally relevant activities, and strengthen notification and restoration duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1994. The bill aims to provide clearer guidance on how individuals and corporations can achieve compliance with their general environmental duty.
Key findings (4)
- The bill proposes introducing GED Codes to outline how people and corporations can achieve compliance with the General Environmental Duty
- The Environmental Protection Act 1994 places core duties on all persons in Queensland, including the duty to prevent or minimise environmental harm
- The bill addresses duties to notify environmental harm and to restore the environment after incidents causing unlawful harm
- The Minister is already empowered to make codes of practice under the EP Act, and the bill builds on this framework
Recommendations (1)
- The committee recommends that the Bill be passed.
Committee report tabled
Assent date: 4 September 2025