National Environmental Standards: what applies now and what applies from December

Australia’s first National Environmental Standards were made on 19 August 2026. Four Standards have been set: Matters of National Environmental Significance, Environmental Offsets, Community Engagement, and Data and Information. They apply from this week (commencing 24 August 2026) to new bilateral agreements with states and territories, but not to individual project assessments and approval decisions until the new approval tests commence, by 1 December 2026.

The standards can be accessed at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/epbc-act-reform/standards

What the Standards say

The MNES Standard contains an overarching framework for decision makers to provide for the protection, conservation, restoration and recovery of protected matters. It includes a requirement to avoid, mitigate and repair damage before compensation for impacts is considered.

The Environmental Offsets Standard sets a framework for offsets to adequately compensate for damage. Offsets must be feasible, measurable and additional, and must protect or restore the same type of environmental value that was impacted. They must also achieve a net gain for the environment, so that they more than compensate for damage that cannot be avoided or repaired.

The Community Engagement Standard sets out what good engagement with the community looks like. The Data and Information Standard is directed at ensuring decisions are underpinned by appropriate data and information.

What is different

There was no equivalent instrument before this. The Standards were a key recommendation of the Samuel Review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, and the Government’s stated purpose for them is twofold: to provide clearer, more consistent benchmarks for decisions made by the new, independent National Environmental Protection Agency, and to enable new agreements with states and territories intended to speed up approvals.

What it means for proponents

From this week, the Standards apply to new bilateral agreements. If a project’s pathway runs, or may run, through an accredited state process, the terms of any new agreement are worth watching as they are negotiated.

Individual assessments and approval decisions are unaffected until the new approval tests commence, by 1 December 2026. The practical consequence is that a project entering assessment now may be decided under tests that change partway through. The streamlined assessment pathway and bioregional planning improvements are set to commence by the same date.

The Offsets Standard is the one to read early. A net gain requirement, combined with like-for-like restoration and an additionality test, is a different exercise from demonstrating adequate compensation. Offset strategies built on current settings should be tested against it, and the cost and land access implications worked through before December rather than after.

What it means environmentally

The direction is toward a higher bar: an express mitigation hierarchy, and offsets that must deliver more than they cost. What that produces in practice depends on measurement — how net gain is quantified, over what period, and against what baseline.

What is unresolved

A further tranche of EPBC Act regulation changes also commences this week, covering minor and preparatory works before an approval, new rulings powers, protections statements, and provisions relating to enfranchising bilateral agreements.

We will continue to provide consultation inputs for Government on these reforms and will provide periodic updates to our project partners.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is sourced from publicly available documents and resources. New Ground strive to ensure the content is accurate and up to date, however amendments or updates may occur. For the most up to date information, please refer to the links provided.