EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

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

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC176) Instrument 2022

Background

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

Under section 181 of the Act, the Minister must, by legislative instrument, establish a list of threatened ecological communities (List) divided into the following categories: Critically endangered; Endangered; and Vulnerable.

Under paragraph 184(a) of the Act, the Minister may, by legislative instrument, amend the list of threatened ecological communities by including items in the List in accordance with Part 13, Division 1, Subdivision AA of the Act.

Purpose of the Instrument

The purpose of this instrument is to amend the list by including in the critically endangered category: Ben Halls Gap Sphagnum Moss Cool Temperate Rainforest, as recommended by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (Committee), having regard to its eligibility for the critically endangered category under subsection 182(1) of the Act.

The Committee concluded that the Ben Halls Gap Sphagnum Moss Cool Temperate Rainforest met the criteria specified in regulation 7.02 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000, as follows:

• Criterion 2 as critically endangered because its geographic distribution is very restricted, and the nature of its distribution makes it likely that the action of a threatening process could cause it to be lost in the immediate future; and
• Criterion 5 as critically endangered because its rate of continuing detrimental change is very severe as indicated by intensification, across most of its geographic distribution, in degradation, or disruption of important community processes, that is very severe.

On the basis of the assessment and advice of the Committee, the Minister was satisfied that this ecological community is eligible to be included in the critically endangered category. In deciding to include it in the List, the Minister only considered matters that relate to whether the ecological community is eligible to be included in that category, and the effect that including the ecological community in that category could have on the survival of the ecological community.

Consultation

Consultation to amend the List under the Act to include the ecological community was undertaken before the legislative instrument was made in accordance with the process outlined in Part 13, Division 1, Subdivision AA of the Act.

A draft assessment was placed on public exhibition, and public comments were sought as required by the Act. Parties with relevant expertise were directly consulted regarding their views. All public submissions received were considered by the Committee and forwarded to the Minister for consideration.

This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

This instrument will commence on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Authority: section 181 and paragraph 184(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.