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 (Cth) (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, especially matters of national environmental significance, and conservation of biodiversity, including the protection and conservation of threatened species.

Section 178 of the Act provides for a list of threatened species (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 that the Minister or delegate may, by legislative instrument, amend the List to correct an inaccuracy or update the name of a listed threatened species.

• The purpose of this Instrument is to amend the List by removing sub-headings from the list, reordering the species scientific names that appear under each category into alphabetical order and reordering the list of categories to correspond with the order under section 178 of the Act.

Consultation is not required under the EPBC Act prior to making the instrument. Section 18 (2)(a) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 states that consultation is considered unnecessary for ‘an instrument that is of a minor or machinery nature and that does not substantially alter existing arrangements’.  As this Instrument is for administrative purposes and does not alter existing arrangement for the List, consultation was not required.

Section 189(1) of the Act requires the rule-maker, when deciding whether to amend the List under section 184(1)(d) of the Act, to obtain and consider advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee on the proposed amendment. The Committee agreed that removing sub-headings from the list and reordering the scientific names alphabetically under each category would result in a more standardised and understandable list.

The Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (Cth).

The Instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Authority: Section 184(1)(d) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).