Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACT 1999 - SECT 28

             (1)  The Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency must not take inside or outside the Australian jurisdiction an action that has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment inside or outside the Australian jurisdiction.

Civil penalty:           

                     (a)  for a Commonwealth agency that is an individual--1,000 penalty units;

                     (b)  for a Commonwealth agency that is a body corporate--10,000 penalty units.

Note 1:       This section protects (among other things) the Commonwealth Heritage values of a Commonwealth Heritage place from an action taken by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency, because the heritage values of a place are part of the environment. See the definition of environment in section 528.

Note 2:       This section does not apply to decisions to authorise activities. See Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part 23.

             (2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to an action if:

                     (a)  an approval of the taking of the action by the Commonwealth or Commonwealth agency is in operation under Part 9 for the purposes of this section; or

                     (b)  Part 4 lets the Commonwealth or Commonwealth agency take the action without an approval under Part 9 for the purposes of this section; or

                     (c)  the action is one declared by the Minister in writing to be an action to which this section does not apply; or

                     (d)  there is in force a decision of the Minister under Division 2 of Part 7 that this section is not a controlling provision for the action and, if the decision was made because the Minister believed the action would be taken in a manner specified in the notice of the decision under section 77, the action is taken in that manner; or

                     (e)  the action is an action described in subsection 160(2) (which describes actions whose authorisation is subject to a special environmental assessment process).

             (3)  The Minister may make a written declaration that actions are actions to which this section does not apply, but only if he or she is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of:

                     (a)  Australia's defence or security; or

                     (b)  preventing, mitigating or dealing with a national emergency.

             (4)  The Minister may make a written declaration that all actions, or a specified class of actions, taken by a specified Commonwealth agency are actions to which this section does not apply.

             (5)  The Minister may make a declaration under subsection (4) relating to a Commonwealth agency's actions only if he or she is satisfied that:

                     (a)  in taking the actions to which the declaration relates, the agency must comply with the law of a State or Territory (including a law of a State that is applied to a Commonwealth place by virtue of the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970 ), that has either or both of the following objects (whether express or implied):

                              (i)  to protect the environment;

                             (ii)  to promote the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of natural resources; and

                     (b)  the impacts that the actions have, will have or are likely to have on the environment, are adequately addressed under the State or Territory law.