Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Act 2025

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Act 2025

No. 65, 2025

An Act to impose charges that are duties of excise in relation to matters connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and for related purposes

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Act binds the Crown

4 Extension to external Territories

5 Extra‑territorial application

6 Act does not impose tax on property of a State

7 Imposition of charges

8 Matters relating to amount of charges

9 Exemptions from charges

10 Regulations

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Act 2025

No. 65, 2025

An Act to impose charges that are duties of excise in relation to matters connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and for related purposes

[Assented to 1 December 2025]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Act 2025.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Act binds the Crown

  This Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth.

4  Extension to external Territories

  This Act extends to the external Territories.

5  Extra‑territorial application

  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.

6  Act does not impose tax on property of a State

 (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.

 (2) In this section:

property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.

7  Imposition of charges

 (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge in relation to a prescribed matter connected with the administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or regulations made under that Act.

 (2) Charges prescribed under subsection (1) are imposed as taxes.

 (3) Two or more charges may be prescribed in relation to the same matter, and a single charge may be prescribed in relation to 2 or more matters.

 (4) This section imposes a charge only so far as that charge is a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.

8  Matters relating to amount of charges

 (1) The regulations may prescribe a charge under subsection 7(1):

 (a) by specifying an amount as the charge; or

 (b) by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the charge.

 (2) Before the Governor‑General makes a regulation under subsection 7(1) prescribing a charge in relation to a matter, the Minister must be satisfied that the amount of the charge is set at a level that is designed to recover no more than the Commonwealth’s likely costs in connection with the matter.

9  Exemptions from charges

  The regulations may provide for exemptions from a charge prescribed under subsection 7(1).

10  Regulations

  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:

 (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the regulations; or

 (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 30 October 2025

Senate on 24 November 2025]