In Australia, responsibility for environmental matters in Australia is split between the States and the Commonwealth. Although primary responsibility rests with the States, over the past decade the Commonwealth has played an increasingly active role in environmental matters. The main Commonwealth environmental law is the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2000. Generally, when planning an activity involving a matter regulated by the EPBC Act it may be necessary to obtain approval from the Environment Minister under this Act. The areas which the act says are matters of commonwealth jurisdiction are:
World Heritage sites;
National Heritage places;
Nationally protected wetlands (Ramsar wetlands);
Nationally listed threatened species and ecological communities;
Listed migratory species;
Nuclear actions (including uranium mines);
Commonwealth marine areas;
Land owned by the Commonwealth; and
Activities by Commonwealth agencies.
These are known as Matters of National Environmental Significance.
In New South Wales, the main law regulating land use in NSW is the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ( EPA Act ). The Act is administered by the NSW Department of Planning. The Minister responsible for the Act is the Minister for Planning (Planning Minister). The EPA Act allows plans to be made (environmental planning) to guide the process of development and to regulate competing land uses. The EPA Act allows two types of environmental plans to be made:
Local environmental plans (LEPs); and
State environment planning policies (SEPPs).
Collectively, these plans are called Environmental Planning Instruments (EPIs).
The court which deals with disputes relating to NSW Planning and Environmental law is the Land and Environment Court which is a specialist court which deals with cases relating to development, the environment and local government. It is part of the NSW court system, and has equal standing with the Supreme Court of NSW. The Land and Environment Court was established by legislation (the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 ), and can only deal with those matters which are listed in the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (or any other Act) as being within its jurisdiction.
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