Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1) 2002 No. 83
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2002 No. 83
Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for the Environment and Heritage
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1)
Subsection 520(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters: (a) required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed; or (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Clause 33(3)(a) provides that the Minister may accredit a management plan only if satisfied that, amongst other things, the management plan and the law under which it is in force (or is to be in force) meet the criteria prescribed by the regulations.
The purpose of the proposed Regulation is to prescribe the criteria (under clause 33(3)(a) of the Act) that must be met before a fisheries management plan can be accredited by the Minister.
The proposed regulations prescribe three criteria for the accreditation of fisheries management plans, namely, they must be:
• plans that are in force, or in force in the future, under either the Fisheries Management Act 1991 or the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984;
• plans that have been endorsed by the Environment Minister under an Agreement made under section 146, which provides for agreements to be made relating to strategic assessments of the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program on a matter protected by a provision of Part 3 of the Act; and
• in the form in which the plan was endorsed.
The criteria would, for the first time, provide the basis for the Environment Minister to make a decision on whether to accredit a management plan for a fishery under section 33 of the Act.
The amending Regulations commence on gazettal.
Overview
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1) was enacted to address the need for a formal process to accredit fisheries management plans under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act). This amendment was issued by the authority of the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, aiming to ensure that fisheries management plans meet specific criteria before they can be accredited by the Minister. The policy objective behind these regulations is to integrate environmental considerations into the accreditation process for fisheries management plans, thereby protecting biodiversity and ensuring sustainable management of fisheries resources.
These regulations were introduced to fill a legislative gap by prescribing the criteria that must be met for a fisheries management plan to be accredited, including that the plan must be in force under either the Fisheries Management Act 1991 or the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984, endorsed by the Environment Minister under an agreement for strategic assessments, and in the form endorsed. This formalises the accreditation process and provides clarity for stakeholders involved in fisheries management.
Scope and Application
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1) applies to fisheries management plans, specifically those that are in force or to be in force under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 or the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984. The Act applies to these plans only if they have been endorsed by the Environment Minister under an agreement made under section 146 of the Act, and if they are in the form in which the plan was endorsed. These regulations serve to prescribe the criteria that must be met for a fisheries management plan to be accredited by the Minister, thus extending the application of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to the management of fisheries. The regulations have a national jurisdictional reach, as they apply to fisheries across Australia. There are no stated exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds in the regulations themselves, although the criteria for accreditation may inherently exclude certain plans that do not meet the specified conditions. The application of the Act is extended through these subordinate regulations, which provide the necessary detail for accrediting fisheries management plans under section 33 of the Act.
Key Provisions
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1) propose new criteria under section 33(3)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) for the accreditation of fisheries management plans. These criteria are designed to ensure that any fisheries management plan seeking accreditation by the Minister must be in force or to be in force under either the Fisheries Management Act 1991 or the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (section 1). Additionally, such plans must be endorsed by the Environment Minister under an agreement made under section 146 of the Act, which relates to strategic assessments of the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program on a matter protected by a provision of Part 3 of the Act (section 2). Finally, the plans must be in the form in which they were endorsed (section 3). These criteria provide the basis for the Environment Minister to decide whether to accredit a management plan for a fishery under section 33 of the Act.
The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties and entities it governs. Firstly, any fisheries management plan that seeks accreditation must comply with the criteria set out in the proposed regulations. This includes being in force under the relevant fisheries management legislation and being endorsed by the Environment Minister under an agreement made under section 146 of the Act (subsection 33(3)(a)). Secondly, the Environment Minister must be satisfied that the management plan meets these criteria before accrediting it (subsection 33(3)(a)). This ensures that the Minister has a clear framework for evaluating and accrediting fisheries management plans.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the proposed regulations may result in civil or criminal consequences. Under the Act, any person who contravenes the regulations may be liable to a penalty (subsection 525(1)). The maximum penalty for contravening the regulations depends on the nature of the contravention. For example, for a corporation, the maximum penalty can be up to 500 penalty units (subsection 525(3)). Additionally, any person who knowingly or recklessly contravenes the regulations may be subject to criminal prosecution, which could result in a fine of up to 500 penalty units for an individual and 2,500 penalty units for a corporation (subsection 525(2)). These penalties serve as a deterrent against non-compliance and ensure that the objectives of the Act are met.
The proposed regulations, once made, will commence on the date of their gazettal. This means that the new criteria for accrediting fisheries management plans will come into effect immediately upon publication in the Commonwealth Gazette, allowing the Environment Minister to begin applying the new requirements to any plans seeking accreditation. The immediate commencement ensures that there is no delay in enforcing the new criteria and that the objectives of the Act are met without unnecessary delay.