Revised draft National Environmental Standard on Environmental Offsets
Submission Date: 5 June 2026
The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the updated Exposure Draft National Environmental Standard for Environmental Offsets (updated ED Environmental Offsets Standard) and accompanying updated draft Policy Position Paper.
This submission is informed by Australian Environment Planning Law Group of the Law Council’s Legal Practice Section, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Law Society of Western Australia and the Queensland Law Society.
This submission builds on the Law Council's feedback on the earlier draft instrument,1 and provides further commentary with the benefit of additional time to consider its contents.
In the Law Council’s view, advanced offsets, bioregional planning, and greater flexibility, including mechanisms to share risk and benefit, should be central to the updated ED Environmental Offsets Standard. These elements would address persistent implementation challenges, including demonstrating commencement and net gain, the accumulation of underutilised government funds, and the lack of incentives for proponents and third parties to deliver offsets. They would also support a more functional offsets market and reduce the risk of legal challenge.
1 Law Council of Australia, Submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, National Environmental Standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance and Environmental Offsets (30 January 2026).
Last Updated on 19/06/2026
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