The Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2025 requires Commonwealth decision-makers to consider and prioritise the health and wellbeing of current and future Australian children when approving projects that emit substantial greenhouse gases, and prohibits new coal, oil or gas exploration and extraction decisions that pose a material risk of harm to those children.

The Bill amends the Climate Change Act 2022 and six major Commonwealth Acts—the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991, Infrastructure Australia Act 2008, National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023, Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016, and Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006—to insert two new statutory duties on decision-makers for “significant decisions” that are likely to result in scope 1, 2 or 3 greenhouse gas emissions exceeding 100,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent over a facility’s lifetime.

First, it requires responsible persons to consider the likely impacts of those emissions on the health and wellbeing of current and future Australian children and to treat that wellbeing as the paramount consideration. Second, it prevents approvals of any new coal, oil or gas exploration or extraction decision where projected emissions pose a material risk of harm to children’s health and wellbeing. The Bill also extends the availability of judicial review and standing under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to include affected children, defines “significant decision” to capture both direct and indirect emissions effects, and grants the Climate Change Minister rule-making powers to guide application of the new duties. All amendments commence the day after Royal Assent and apply prospectively only.