Realising efficiencies and streamlining in the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and other portfolio amendments
Update: 2 December 2025
Outcome of this consultation which closed on 14 July 2025
“The Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation introduced the Environmental Protection (Efficiency and Streamlining) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill) into the Queensland Parliament on Thursday 20 November.
Public consultation on the majority of the proposed amendments was undertaken between 10 June 2025 and 14 July 2025, with 61 submissions received. Engagement on the integrated permissions proposal was identified through the development of Destination 2045.
The feedback from submissions and stakeholders was used to inform preparation of a draft Bill with further adjustments made in response to targeted consultation on the exposure draft that occurred from 24 September 2025 until 17 October 2025.
View the full consultation report .
The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (the department) undertakes regular reviews of the legislation it administers to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
The department has recently undertaken a targeted review of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) and is seeking feedback on proposed amendments to the regulatory framework. Proposed amendments are designed to increase efficiency, ensure the EP Act remains fit for purpose, and respond to emerging issues and challenges.
Minor amendments to the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and chapter 3 of the Water Act 2000 are also proposed.
Further information is outlined in the consultation paper . Realising efficiencies and streamlining in the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and other portfolio amendments.
Technical Report: Environmental Risk of Resources Activities
Proposed changes to the EP Act include transitioning low-risk activities from environmental authorities (EAs) to new mandatory codes of practice, with an initial focus on lower risk resource activities (such as small-scale mining). Mandatory codes will relieve businesses of the requirement to apply for and hold an environmental authority for certain activities, while maintaining environmental and community safeguards.
The review of resource industry environmentally relevant activities to determine those suitable for conversion to a mandatory code is proposed to be informed by the Technical Report: Environmental Risk of Resources Activities in addition to consultation. The report outlines the environmental risks of resource activities regulated under the EP Act. It was prepared by the department in consultation with the resource industry, academia and environmental peak body stakeholders, including through workshops and consultation held between April 2019 and October 2022.
How to have your say
This consultation is the first step in the legislative change process, and we are inviting stakeholder and community submissions at the earliest possible time to provide their feedback.
The consultation paper contains details of each of the proposals, guiding questions, and supporting information to help inform your feedback.
Written submissions should be emailed to EPAct.Policy@detsi.qld.gov.au by 5pm 14 July 2025. When commenting on specific items, please refer to the relevant heading number (e.g. Section 1.1) as well as the proposal itself.
Next steps
Submissions and stakeholder feedback will be used to refine proposals and prepare draft legislative amendments.