Strategic environmental assessment in Australian land-use planning

This article considers the application of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) provisions on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to land-use planning. Until recently, other than application to the fisheries sector, the use of these provisions has been extremely limited. Law reform in 2006 intended to improve the take-up of the provisions, which depend on agreement between the proponent and the Australian Environment Minister, appears to have made a difference, with SEA applied to resource development proposals and in the land-use planning sector - the latter of which globally has resulted in the greatest number of SEAs. The article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of recent practice in this sector, which was begun in the ACT in 2008. Conclusions are drawn that after considerable delays in implementation, SEA may at last have begun to realise its Australian potential.