On 22 June 2026, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment announced[i] that a reconsideration request relating to Woodside’s Browse Gas Project[ii] had been determined to be valid, and would be open for public comments.
This explainer sets out some key information about reconsideration requests under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act), and how you can have your say in this process.
What is the reconsideration request?
In February 2026, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) made a reconsideration request in relation to the federal assessment of the Browse Gas Project.[iii]
The project has been undergoing federal assessment since it was referred to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment by Woodside in 2018. Following the referral, the Minister made their ‘controlled action decision’ – in which the Minister must decide whether any of the specified ‘matters of national environmental significance’ protected by the EPBC Act (MNES or protected matters) may be impacted by a project, thereby requiring assessment and approval.[iv] For this project, the Minister’s original controlled action decision[v] in 2019 identified that the project required assessment in respect of four protected matters: national heritage places; listed threatened species and communities; listed migratory species; and the environment of Commonwealth marine areas.
A reconsideration request is a formal legal mechanism to ask the Minister to reconsider a controlled action decision and the protected matters that were originally identified for assessment.[vi] There are specific legal bases for making a reconsideration request, for example where there is substantial, new information available about the impacts of the action, or there has been a change in circumstances relating to the impacts of the action.
ACF’s request submitted that there was substantial new information identifying impacts of the project on protected matters that were not identified in the original controlled action decision. The information provided in ACF’s request included:
- a peer-reviewed scientific journal article published in October 2025 which sets out a methodology to quantify the impacts of individual fossil fuel projects’ greenhouse gas emissions; and
- an expert report of Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, which calculates that the project’s 1.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to result in the loss of approximately 29.35 million individual coral colonies on the Reef.
ACF’s request calls on the Minister to revoke the original controlled action decision and substitute a new decision which includes two EPBC Act protected matters relating to the Great Barrier Reef,[vii] in addition to the four protected matters identified in the original controlled action decision.
It’s important to note that the Minister’s decision, while including the above criteria, is ultimately discretionary – the Minister will choose whether to revoke the original decision or not. This is why public comments are an important opportunity for the community to have your voice heard and ensure the Minister takes your views into account.
How can I get involved?
The Minister has published ACF’s request and invited comments from the public: see EPBC Act Public Portal. The comment period closes on 21 July 2026.
There are no strict requirements on what your comment has to include or address. You can include your views on the material submitted by ACF, your own knowledge or experience, or any other information you want the Minister to consider.
For comments to be most effective, it may be useful to focus on addressing the criteria that the Minister will need to be ‘satisfied of’ in order to make the decision, which are:[viii]
- Is there is substantial new information or changed circumstances?
- Is revoking the original decision warranted because a new decision made in light of this information would identify the Great Barrier Reef additional protected matters for assessment?
What happens next?
After the comment period, the Minister will either confirm the original controlled action decision, or revoke and remake the decision. If the Minister adds a new protected matter, then the impacts of the project on this matter will have to be added into the assessment process and into the Minister’s ultimate decision on whether to approve the project.
The EPBC Act does not set a time limit for processing reconsideration requests. Once the Minister has made a decision about the request, it will be published online.[ix]
For more information, please see EDO’s factsheet on Reconsideration Requests.
N.B. This explainer relates to the provisions in the EPBC Act as they apply to this reconsideration request. Changes to the EPBC Act are coming into force under the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 (Cth), including to provisions relating to reconsideration requests. If you are viewing this document in relation to a different reconsideration request, we recommend viewing EDO’s factsheet on Reconsideration Requests, which will be updated as these changes take effect.
[i] https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/watt/media-releases/administrative-decisions-regarding-browse-projects.
[ii] Browse to North West Shelf Development (EPBC Number 2018/8319): https://epbcpublicportal.environment.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/?id=19598791-d6d1-e811-a2e6-005056ba00a8.
[iii] See https://epbcpublicportal.environment.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/?id=19598791-d6d1-e811-a2e6-005056ba00a8.
[iv] Protected matters, or ‘matters of national environmental significance’, are outlined in Part 3 of the EPBC Act. They include World Heritage Properties; National Heritage places; listed threatened species and ecological communities; listed migratory species; and Commonwealth marine areas.
[v] Available: https://epbcpublicportal.environment.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/project-decision/?id=06ce8ddd-26e9-e811-a978-005056ba00a8.
[vi] EPBC Act, s 78A.
[vii] Being the environment in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park – ss 24B and 24C of the EPBC Act; and the world heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – ss 12 and 15A of the EPBC Act.
[viii] EPBC Act, ss 78, 78A; EPBC Act Policy Statement – Reconsideration: Implementing the requirements of sections 78, 78A, 78B and 78C of the EPBC Act, pp 4, 6, 8. See p 11 for details on what questions and materials the Minister will consider when making a new decision.
[ix] As required under EPBC Act, s 78C(3) and EPBC Regulations, reg 4A.01. The EPBC Regulations require the notice be published on the internet and in the Gazette; and contain particular information.
