A proposed action likely to have a significant impact on
certain koala populations must now be referred under the EPBC
Act.
On 30 April 2012 Environment Minister Tony Burke listed the
combined Queensland, NSW and ACT koala populations as
"vulnerable" on the national list of threatened species
after a Senate Inquiry last year found that numbers were declining
in Queensland and NSW.
Listed threatened species are recognised as a matter of national
environmental significance. Any action that is likely to have a
significant impact on this threatened species must be referred to
the Federal Minister administering the Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and,
where determined as a "controlled action", undergo an
environmental assessment and approval process under the EPBC
Act.
