Have your say on the referral of the North to East Australia Pipeline Stage 1 to the NT EPA

APT Management Services Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of APA Group, (APA) has referred Stage 1 of the North to East Australia Pipeline to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority for environmental assessment under the Environment Protection Act 2019 (NT).

APA proposes to develop, own and operate the North to East Australia Pipeline (NEAP). The NEAP is a 1,561km gas transmission pipeline to transport gas extracted from the Beetaloo Sub-basin in the Northern Territory to the East Coast Gas Grid in Queensland. The NEAP would enable the commercialisation of fracking projects in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin. The NEAP is proposed to be developed in stages, with Stage 1 focussed on the section of the NEAP located within the Northern Territory. Stage 2 of the NEAP is focussed on the section of the pipeline located in Queensland and will be assessed under Qld law.

The NT EPA must now make two decisions:

  1. Does the NEAP require environmental approval to proceed?
  2. If so, what level of environmental impact assessment is required for the Minister to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to grant environmental approval of the NEAP?

This is the first opportunity for the public to comment on Stage 1 of the NEAP, and in particular, on why the NEAP requires environmental assessment and at what level the environmental impacts of the NEAP should be assessed. You can let the NT EPA know your views on points (1) and (2) above by sending in your submission by no later than 11:59pm (ACST) on 15 October 2026.

The referral documents can be found on the NT EPA’s website here: North to East Australia Pipeline Stage 1 | NTEPA