Checklist · Planning & Environment
EPBC Act referral preparation checklist (Commonwealth)
Checklist for deciding whether to refer a proposed action under the EPBC Act and for preparing a complete referral, reflecting the 2025 reform amendments in force and the National EPA, which began operating on 1 July 2026.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use for any project that could significantly affect a matter of national environmental significance or other matter protected by Part 3 of the EPBC Act. Use with the proponent's ecologist and environmental consultant; it does not replace their assessment.
How AI may be used
AI may summarise ecological and technical reports and assemble the referral information, but the identification and significance assessment of protected matters must be done and checked by the consultant and the lawyer.
AI may
- Summarise ecological surveys and technical reports into the referral's information categories, with page references.
- Compare the protected matters search report with the surveys and list species or communities not addressed.
- Draft the avoidance and mitigation description from the consultant's measures for checking.
AI must not
- Must not decide whether an impact is "significant" or whether to refer.
- Must not fill gaps in survey data or estimate greenhouse gas emissions without a qualified source.
- Must not submit the referral or make statements on the proponent's behalf.
The lawyer checks
- Every protected matter in the search report is addressed or explained.
- The description of the action covers the whole action, including facilitated and indirect impacts.
- No component of the action will start before the referral is decided.
- Every statement in the referral is accurate and supported by the consultant reports, because the Minister relies on it.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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