EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for the Environment)

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)

Instrument under section 184(1)(d)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment and conservation of biodiversity, including the protection and conservation of threatened species.

Section 178 of the Act provides for a list of threatened species and (the List) separated into particular categories being extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable and conservation dependent.

Section 184(1)(d) of the Act provides for the correcting of an inaccuracy or updating the name of a listed species or ecological community.

The purpose of this Instrument is to amend the List by:

• correcting an inaccuracy to include in the list the erroneously omitted Diuris purdiei

Background

Section 178 of the EPBC Act provides that at the commencement of the EPBC Act the Minister must establish a list of threatened species, containing only the species contained in Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cth) (ESP Act) as in force immediately before the commencement of the EPBC Act.

Diuris purdiei (Purdie’s donkey orchid) is consider to be listed as endangered under the EPBC Act as it was included in Schedule 1 of the ESP Act immediately before the commencement of the list. It has come to light in a recent work being undertaken to prepare compilation lists that Diuris purdiei was mistakenly omitted from the first list when it was created. This appears to be an administrative oversight as it was clear that the intent of the Act was that this species be included in the list.

Consultation

In accordance with section 184(1)(d) consultation is not required to be undertaken before the instrument was made. 

This Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Instrument is taken to have commenced on 16 July 2000.

The retrospective commencement of this instrument does not contravene subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 because it does not impose any detriment on a person, or remove any rights from a person, with retrospective effect.