The Environment Information Australia Bill 2025 establishes an independent statutory office—Head of Environment Information Australia (HEIA)—to lead the collection, integration and public sharing of high-quality national environmental data and information. It also mandates regular State of the Environment reporting, creation of environmental economic accounts, and a public register of nationally significant environmental information assets.
These reforms implement recommendations of the 2020 Samuel review of the EPBC Act, addressing fragmentation of environmental data to support faster, evidence-based decision-making and greater transparency.
The Environment Information Australia Bill 2025 (EIA Bill) creates a new standalone Act to establish the statutory position of the Head of Environment Information Australia (HEIA) within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Under Part 1, the Bill sets out its objects: to improve availability and accessibility of high quality national environmental information and data, and to enhance accountability through regular, transparent reporting.
Part 2 confers on the HEIA functions to:
Clauses 10–11 guarantee the HEIA’s independence from ministerial or departmental direction when preparing the State of the Environment reports and economic accounts. Part 3 requires the Minister to table a formal response to each State of the Environment report (including environmental targets and timeframes) within six months and to table statements of updated environmental economic accounts within 15 sitting days.
Part 4 establishes a comprehensive, non-coercive data-sharing regime. The HEIA may request information from custodians, assemble a public environment data portal, and disclose or share information in prescribed circumstances (e.g. to other regulators, to avert serious risk to human health or the environment), while civil penalties apply for unauthorized disclosure of protected information. Part 5 addresses the HEIA’s appointment (as a SES-level APS employee), staff support and contracting. Part 6 allows delegation, annual and independent five-year reviews, rule-making by the Minister, and limits liability for good-faith acts under the Act.
The EIA Bill systematically addresses the fragmentation of Australia’s environmental data by creating an independent authority empowered to gather, standardize and disseminate high-quality environmental information. Access to authoritative data underpins evidence-informed policymaking and regulatory decisions that can better protect and restore ecosystems, reduce biodiversity loss and mitigate climate risks [Judgment].
The Bill’s requirement for regular State of the Environment reports and environmental economic accounts ensures transparent, accountable tracking of environmental trends and government performance against national goals. Embedding independence protects these reports from political interference, fostering public trust. A public register of critical information assets clarifies responsibilities, avoids duplication and promotes collaboration across Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies, scientific institutions and industry.
By unlocking data sharing and reporting, the EIA Bill empowers citizens, businesses and researchers to engage with concrete environmental evidence, elevating the quality of public debate and driving more effective, targeted conservation and sustainable development outcomes.
While better environmental data is desirable, the EIA Bill risks duplicating existing functions of bodies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and state environment agencies, adding a new layer of bureaucracy without clear evidence that current data gaps cannot be closed through reform of existing arrangements [Judgment]. Establishing a separate statutory office at SES level entails significant ongoing costs, estimated at over $4.5 million per year, which may divert scarce public funds from frontline conservation programs where marginal returns are higher.
The Bill’s civil-penalty regime for data misuse and complex information-sharing rules impose compliance burdens on Commonwealth, State and private custodians. This could discourage voluntary data contributions or delay critical datasets, undermining the very transparency the Act seeks to promote. Further, mandating ministerial responses to reports risks politicizing scientific assessments, as governments may tailor targets or interpretations to suit short-term agendas rather than genuine environmental progress.
2025-10-30
Passed Both Houses
Unspecified
Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Climate Change / Environment, Democratic Institutions, Science / Technology