2026-27 Budget - environment approvals

Question

1. We note that the DCCEEW PBS, p18 says there will be ''$88.8 million over 4 years from 2026-27 to improve user experience for proponents and modernise environmental information''. a. What exactly will this money be for? Why weren't approvals already faster under the NEW EPBC? b. How much will approvals be faster now? As in, instead of 8 years for energy projects will it be 7.75 years now? 2. Also the PBS, p18 says there will be ''$65.6 million over 4 years from 2026-27 to progress development of bilateral agreements''. a. What exactly is this funding for? Is it for more meetings? More travel? Anything else? b. How will the progress be improved on the bilateral agreements? How much faster? Do any new bilateral agreements exist under the new EPBC?

Answer

Please see the attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000630.pdf (opens in a new tab)