EPBC Act Strategic Assessment of Forestry Operations within NSW Regional Forest Agreement regions
As part of the recent reforms to Australia’s national environment law, from 1 July 2027 forestry operations in NSW Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) regions will no longer be subject to an exemption under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
To prepare for these changes, the NSW Government is undertaking a Forestry Strategic Assessment. This will help ensure an approval framework is in place before these changes take effect.
The assessment will cover forestry operations in the following RFA regions:
- Eden
- Southern
- North East.
This includes:
- public native forestry
- private native forestry
- plantations.
The assessment will assess potential impacts on nationally significant environmental values, such as threatened species and ecological communities. It will also identify ways to manage these impacts while supporting a sustainable forestry sector.
Delivering the strategic assessment
The NSW Government has engaged the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) to undertake key components of the assessment.
The assessment includes:
- Strategic Impact Assessment Report (SIAR)- assesses the potential impacts of forestry operations on Matters of National Environmental Significance.
- Program- outlines the management measures, commitments and environmental outcomes that will support the protection of these values.
The expected assessment completion date is 1 July 2027.
Have Your Say
Community participation is an important part of the assessment process.
The draft Terms of Reference (ToR), which set out what the assessment will consider, are now available for public feedback.
We encourage community members, stakeholders and interested organisations to have their say and help shape the assessment.
There will also be a further opportunity to comment on the draft SIAR and Program when they are released for public exhibition in early 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Strategic assessments – procedural/general
Strategic assessments are landscape-scale assessments defined under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). They allow a big-picture approach to assessing potential impacts on nationally significant animals, plants, habitats or places. Strategic assessments deliver conservation and planning outcomes on a much larger scale than ongoing project-by-project assessments and approvals.
Each strategic assessment is a collaboration between the Australian Government and a strategic assessment partner, in this case, the NSW Government.
The strategic assessment was entered into through a Strategic Assessment Agreement, which is the formal document outlining the intent and approach of the Assessment between the Australian and NSW Governments. Terms of Reference sit alongside the Agreement and cover the technical detail of what will be analysed in the impact assessment process.
Draft Terms of Reference have been made available for public comment for at least 28 days before the Commonwealth Environment Minister can finalise them, taking into account feedback received during the consultation.
NSW will prepare a draft Strategic Impact Assessment Report (SIAR), and a draft Program document, in line with the Agreement and the final terms of reference. These draft documents will also be made available for public review and comment for at least 28 days once ready. Following this NSW will consider public feedback and may make changes to these documents as required. The Commonwealth Environment Minister will also consider public feedback and may recommend changes to these draft documents.
Following finalisation of the Strategic Impact Assessment Report (SIAR), and a draft Program document, the NSW Government will submit them to the Commonwealth Environment Minister for endorsement and approval. If appropriate, the Commonwealth Environment Minister may endorse the Program and may also approve classes of actions and attach conditions. These conditions would appear in the approval notice the Minister signs, which is published.
Relevant NSW forestry industry participants will be provided with information about how to comply with the endorsed Program and any conditions that may apply.
The Strategic Assessment Agreement is the formal agreement between the Australian and NSW government to conduct the assessment. It is a mandatory requirement under national environment law and formally establishes the expectations of both parties.
The Terms of reference (ToR) outline the technical details of what will be assessed and have been drafted between both governments and will be released for public exhibition before finalisation.
The Program is the actual document that is the subject of the strategic assessment. This document is prepared as part of the strategic assessment process and provides the details of the Program relevant to EPBC Act requirements. It provides a description of the activities within the program (for example, forestry activities), the manner in which the activities will be undertaken and managed, the outcomes that will be achieved for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), and the commitments that will be implemented to achieve these outcomes.
The Strategic Impact Assessment Report analyses the potential impacts and outcomes of the Program on MNES. It will be prepared for public consultation and helps the Commonwealth Environment Minister in making the decision on whether to endorse the Program. The report must be prepared against the final Terms of Reference that are associated with the Strategic Assessment Agreement. The draft Strategic Impact Assessment Report is comparable with an environmental impact statement (EIS) used for individual project assessments, but at a landscape scale.
Under the EPBC Act, matters of national environmental significance (sometimes also referred to as protected matters) are:
- world heritage properties
- national heritage places
- wetlands of international importance (often called ‘Ramsar’ wetlands after the international treaty under which such wetlands are listed)
- nationally threatened species and ecological communities
- migratory species
- Commonwealth marine areas
- the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
- nuclear actions (including uranium mining)
- a water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining development.
The forestry strategic assessment will need to consider if forestry activities in RFA regions will have, or are likely to have, a significant impact on relevant matters of national environmental significance.
NSW forestry strategic assessment
Following amendments to the EPBC Act in 2025, forestry operations in NSW RFA areas will no longer be exempt from the EPBC Act from 1 July 2027. A new landscape-scale approval needs to be in place by this date for forestry operations in RFA areas to continue without the need for self-assessment or project-by-project approvals under the EPBC Act, where there is likely to be a significant impact on MNES.
While there are three options for landscape-scale approvals under the Act, the NSW Government decided to undertake a strategic assessment as it presented the most practical approach to ensuring the approval was in place before 1 July 2027.
The strategic assessment of forestry operations in NSW Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) regions will analyse the potential impacts and outcomes of these activities on all nationally significant animals, plants, habitats or places and ensure appropriate protections are in place.
In the longer-term, the NSW Government will work to pursue an approval bilateral agreement with the Australian Government to accredit NSW forestry operations.
The strategic assessment will seek to authorise forestry operations in the three NSW RFA regions (Eden, Southern and Northeast), including public and private native forestry and plantations.
RFA regions were prioritised because the existing EPBC Act arrangements for forestry operations in those regions will cease on 1 July 2027. The strategic assessment is intended to provide a pathway for the continued regulation of forestry operations in RFA regions through a single, landscape-scale assessment process.
Given the limited time available before 1 July 2027, the strategic assessment is focused on RFA regions to enable completion within the required timeframe. Following completion of the strategic assessment, NSW and the Australian Governments will continue discussions on longer-term arrangements for forestry activities. In the longer-term, the NSW Government will work to pursue an approval bilateral agreement with the Australian Government to accredit NSW forest management systems.
Work on the strategic assessment is ongoing and the assessment will be finalised for consideration by the Commonwealth Environment Minister by 1 July 2027. Stakeholder engagement on the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) will occur throughout September/ October 2026 and on the draft Strategic Impact Assessment Report and Program, which are anticipated to be available in early 2027.
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) is undertaking key components of the strategic assessment, in consultation with key departments including the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW).
$8.5 million is being provided by the Australian Government to the NSW Government over two years to deliver this project. The NSW Government is working closely with Australian Government agencies including Commonwealth DCCEEW and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
Yes. Community engagement is a key requirement of the strategic assessment process.
An engagement plan has been published by the NRC alongside the Agreement and draft Terms of Reference, outlining how NSW intends to consult with stakeholders throughout the development of the assessment.
Members of the public have an opportunity to comment on the draft Terms of Reference. They will also have the opportunity to comment on the draft Strategic Impact Assessment Report and Program anticipated in early 2027.
NSW agencies will also be engaging directly with key stakeholders during the assessment.
Aboriginal people and communities will be engaged by the Natural Resources Commission through the strategic assessment process to better understand their knowledge and experiences of any impacts on matters of national environmental significance in the focus areas, as well as understanding their ecologically sustainable use of natural resources in the focus area.
The NSW Government has proposed a 20-year timeframe for the assessment.
