With the start of the new Environment Protection Act 2019 in June 2020, the Northern Territory reached a hugely significant reform milestone, bringing its outdated environmental impact assessment laws into line with those of other Australian states and territories.
The new Environment Protection Act 2019 (EP Act) was passed in September 2019 and commenced on 28 June 2020, repealing the Environment Assessment Act 1982 (NT), which was a mere six pages and had not been amended in any meaningful way since 1982.
Will the new Act deliver? These significant reforms, while only the first stage of a proposed environmental reform program, represent a long-awaited and much-needed transformation of the NT’s environmental impact assessment framework.
The Environmental Defenders Office has closely scrutinised the new Act as it was developed – writing numerous submissions, reports and analysis over the past few years. This page gathers our work on the Environment Protection Act 2019 in one place.
Reports & Analysis
In the context of this significant law reform, EDO has produced major reports, publications and blog posts that explore issues around the law and environmental protection in the Northern Territory.
Blogs, reports and publications
Previous submissions
In the years leading up to the commencement of the new Act, EDO submitted overarching views on the proposed law and provided high-level commentary on key issues.
Resources/Factsheets
EDO will be publishing a fact sheet on the new Environment Protection Act 2019 later this year – keep an eye out.
