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1.3 Which level of government is responsible for environmental matters?

There are three tiers of government in Australia - Federal, State and local government.

Although responsibility for environmental matters is split between all three levels of government, primary responsibility rests with the States.

State environmental laws

The NSW Government is generally responsible for regulating matters such as:

• Planning and development 1
• Pollution 2
• Management of natural resources such as forests, water and minerals 3
• Protection of threatened species 4
• Heritage protection 5

Click here to access NSW environmental legislation.

To find out which NSW Minister is responsible for a particular law see the Allocation of the Administration of Acts 2008.

Local council responsibilities

The State Government delegates many environmental responsibilities to local councils through legislation such as the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

For example, in NSW local councils are given power to:

• Make local environmental plans; 6
• Assess and approve development; 7
• Investigate and control pollution; 8 and
• Enforce environmental laws. 9

The Local Government Act 1993 regulates many of the functions of local councils.

Commonwealth environmental laws

In recent years the Federal Government has played an increasingly influential role in environmental matters although in practice, the role of the Commonwealth remains relatively small. This is because unlike State Parliaments, the Federal Parliament's powers to make environmental laws are limited by the powers given to it under the Australian Constitution. 10

Areas of Commonwealth environmental responsibility

The Federal Government regulates activities and developments which relate to:

• Commonwealth land;
• activities by Commonwealth agencies;
• nationally threatened species and ecological communities;
• nationally protected wetlands (Ramsar Wetlands);
• listed migratory bird species protected under international agreements;
• World Heritage sites;
• National Heritage places. 11
• Commonwealth marine areas;
• Nuclear activities (including uranium mines); and
• Federal climate change initiatives. 12

Although there are many environmental laws at the Commonwealth level, the main law is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The main government department is the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

For more information on Commonwealth environmental laws, see Topic 3.

The Commonwealth and international environmental law

The Commonwealth is also responsible for implementing the obligations which Australia has adopted under the many international environmental treaties and conventions which it has signed.

For more information on the role of international environmental law, see Fact Sheet 3.4.

With three levels of government all involved in environmental regulation, it can sometimes be difficult to identify which government department and minister is responsible for a particular matter. However, taking the time to identify the correct decision-maker is an important first step in effectively addressing any environmental problem.

1. For more information, see Topic 2.
2. For more information, see Topic 4.
3. For more information, see Topic 5.
4. For more information, see Topic 6.
5. For more information, see Fact Sheet 7.1.
6. For more information on environmental planning, see Fact Sheet 2.1
7. See Topic 2 for more information.
8. See Topic 4 for more information.
9. See Fact Sheet 1.4.
10. For more information on Commonwealth constitutional powers, see Fact Sheet 3.1..
11. See Fact Sheet 3.2.
12. See Fact Sheet 3.5.