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 make administrative changes to amend the List by correcting and updating the scientific names of 449 threatened species.

These name changes result from:

• identification of spelling errors; and
• the review to remove common names from the list.

Removal of common names for the list is being undertaken to remove confusion as some species have multiple common names, common names can vary between regions and multiple species can have the same common name. Maintaining only scientific names on the list provides clarity of the listed entity. Common names will continue to be included and searchable in the Departments database and will continue to be updated from time to time.

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 only corrects inaccuracies and removes common names in the List and does not make any substantial changes to the List, consultation was not undertaken.

While consultation was not required the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) was consulted regarding the proposed amendments.

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. That advice was sought and considered prior to the making of the Instrument. The Committee agreed to recommend the name changes as set out in the Legislative Instrument.

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).