Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION MEASURES (IMPLEMENTATION) ACT 1998 - SECT 4

The following is a simplified outline of the operation of this Act:

State and Territory laws implementing national environment protection measures ( NEPMs ) do not apply to the activities of the Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities, either of their own force or because of the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970 (see section 9).
Under this Act, the Environment Minister may (subject to considerations of national interest or administrative efficiency):

* apply those State laws to the activities of the Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities in Commonwealth places (Part 2); or

* apply those State or Territory laws to the activities of the Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities in other places (Part 3).

If NEPMs are not implemented in relation to the activities of the Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities under Part 2 or Part 3, they can be implemented:

* by regulations (Part 4); or

* if there are no regulations under Part 4, through environmental audits and environment management plans (Part 5).

The implementation of NEPMs in relation to the activities of the Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities may be restricted by the Environment Minister in the national interest.