Protected Areas & Public Land Management

Responding to government proposals

The national, State and local governments regularly invite input from the community on proposed changes to environmental laws. 

• To comment on strategic assessments under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), visit the Australian Environment Department’s website. Strategic assessments are landscape scale assessments that look at a wide range of actions in an area. They can include assessments of nationally protected areas, fire management, and the impact of industries on the environment.

• To comment on proposals for and reviews of the types of activities that can be conducted in protected areas, visit the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage website. Certain activities are prohibited in some protected areas. Sometimes activities that would otherwise be prohibited can be approved by the Government following an assessment of the impacts of the activity on the environment. For more infoamtion about protected areas, see our Fact Sheet on protected areas.

• To comment on draft plans of management for national parks in NSW, visit the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s website. Plans of management are important because they set out how native plants and animals will be protected in the park and how people can use the park. Draft plans of management are placed on public exhibition before they are finalised, and the public can submit comments to the Office of Environment and Heritage. For more information about plans of management for national parks, see our Fact Sheet on protected areas.

• Contact your local council to comment on proposals to reclassify land from community to operational. Councils must arrange a public meeting to discuss a proposal to reclassify community land as operation land.

• To comment on draft plans of management and other documents relating to Crown land, visit the NSW Trade and Investment Crown Land website.

Monitoring and enforcement

Both governments and proponents have responsibility for monitoring the impacts of activities on native plants and animals. You can also monitor the impacts of activities on the environment, such as water and air quality.

Before reporting suspected breaches of environmental laws you will require evidence. It is also important to remember that the law contains certain exceptions and defences to offences. The most common defence is that a person has a permit or licence to take the action which would otherwise be an offence, such as a licence to harm or pick a threatened species. If you are unsure about whether an action is an offence or not, call the Environment Line on 131 555.

National and State enforcement authorities can issue stop work notices in many cases where unauthorised activities are occurring that threaten harm to protected areas.

• Report harm of a nationally protected area to the Australian Environment Department. There are six Commonwealth reserves in Australia. Examples of illegal activity include:

• Killing or injuring a native species in a Commonwealth reserve without authorisation.

• Excavating or carrying out building work in a Commonwealth reserve without authorisation.

• Report harm to NSW protected areas to your nearest National Parks and Wildlife Service office. Examples of illegal activity include:

• Damaging protected areas or damaging or removing things within protected areas without consent. For more information about protected areas in NSW, see our Fact Sheet on protected areas.

• Damaging the habitat of threatened species, populations or ecological communities.

• Driving vehicles off-road or using camels, horses and machines in certain protected areas, or taking animals into a national park.

• Camping in an area that has not been set aside for camping.

• Contact the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) if you are concerned that someone may be lighting a fire unlawfully. A bush fire hazard reduction permit from the RFS or a fire permit may be required before a fire can be lit. In some local council areas approval to burn vegetation or other material may be required from the local council or the EPA. Generally, there is no need to obtain this approval to burn vegetation if the burning is conducted in the course of carrying on agricultural operations. However, approval may still be required if the burning meets the definition of clearing.  There is also an exception for the destruction of an animal that has died, or is reasonably suspected of having died, as a result of a disease. Read more about fire management in The Rural Landholder’s Guide to Environmental Law in NSW.

• To report a suspected breach of national environmental law, visit the Australian Government’s EPBC Act website. To read more about how the environment is protected under national environmental law, see our Fact Sheet on the EPBC Act. Examples of breaches include:

• Taking an action that is likely to have a significant impact on a nationally listed threatened species, population or ecological community.

• Taking an action that is likely to have a significant impact on a nationally listed migratory species.

• Damaging critical habitat. Critical habitat is defined as habitat that is identified as being critical to the survival of a listed threatened species or listed threatened ecological community.

• Taking an action that is likely to have a significant impact on a place that is listed on the World, Commonwealth, or National heritage lists.

• Report a suspected breach of NSW environmental law to the Environment Line on 131 555. Examples of illegal activity include:

• Damaging protected areas or damaging or removing things within protected areas without consent. See our Fact Sheet for more information about protected areas in NSW.

• Damaging the habitat of threatened species, populations or ecological communities.

• Harming native animals, including game birds. Picking or harming native plants may also be an offence. Click here for more information about how native plants and animals are protected in NSW.

• Report pollution incidents to the Environment Line on 131 555. If you are concerned about the use of chemicals or pesticides, or a pollution incident, you should first contact the individual or company to request an explanation and ask them to fix the problem. You should also report the pollution incident to the Environment Line on 131 555. For more information about pollution, see our Fact Sheet on air, water and noise pollution.

Under certain environmental laws, any person has the right to bring proceedings in a Court to remedy or restrain a breach. In NSW, this is mainly to the Land and Environment Court. For breaches of national environmental law, it is the Federal Court. See How can I have my say? for more information. You should contact the EDO NSW Environmental Law Line to request some initial legal advice if you would like to take this step. 

Shaping environmental laws

Many environmental laws merely set out the framework for protecting the environment and rely on community involvement for proper protection. You can proactively seek to improve environmental laws through these processes.

• To submit a proposal to the NSW government that land be declared as, or added to, a wilderness area, visit the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage website. This is a formal opportunity under the Wilderness Act 1987 (NSW). Nominations are made to the Office of Environment and Heritage. There is no such formal opportunity to nominate national parks or other protected areas. However, you may wish to consider making a submission to the Office of Environment and Heritage to declare land a national park or other type of protected area.

• Join the NSW Boards and Committees register, which is a list of people interested in serving on NSW Government boards and committees, such as reserve trusts for the protection of certain areas of environmental and heritage significance.

General

The national, and State and local governments provide continuing opportunities to be involved in the laws designed to protect the environment.

• Visit the Australian Government’s public consultation portal, where a range of proposals that may be relevant to protected areas are exhibited for public comment.

• Engage in the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Community Engagement Forum, where a range of environment and heritage initiatives that may be relevant to protected areas are discussed.

• Visit the NSW Government’s Have Your Say website, where a range of proposals that may be relevant protected areas are discussed, and exhibited for public comment.