Our responsibilities
The National EPA is responsible for:
- education, compliance, and enforcement of national environmental laws
- issuing permits and licences
- assessing and approving projects and setting approval conditions.
The National EPA has not changed the scope of what is regulated by the Commonwealth. The Minister for the Environment retains responsibility for setting environmental policy and national environmental law. The National EPA develops its own operational policies, but does not have broader environmental policy functions.
Legislation we administer
We administer functions under a number of laws, including:
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
- Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981
- Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Act 1995
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Act 1995
- Product Emissions Standards Act 2017
- Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020
- Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018.