Legislation, plans and strategies
ACT Legislation
- Commissioner for the Environment Act 1993
- … an Act to establish the office of the
Commissioner for Sustainability and
Environment to prepare state of the
environment reports on the ACT and with
authority to investigate management of the
environment by the ACT Government and its
agencies; the Act is to be reviewed following
expansion of Commissioner’s functions in
2007 - Domestic Animals Act 2000 … encourages
- responsible pet ownership, establishes the
rights of pets pet owners, and obligations of
pet owners to the community. - Environment Protection Act 1997 … sets standards
- for water quality in waterways, and regulates
activities that are potentially harmful to the
environment; creates a general ‘environmental
duty’ that requires people to take practicable
and reasonable steps to prevent or minimise
environmental harm or nuisance. - Environment Protection Regulation 2005 … made
- under the Environment Protection Act 1997;
Part 4 and Schedule 4 identify ambient
environmental standards for waterways. - Nature Conservation Act 1980 … aims to protect
- biological diversity
- Pest Plant and Animals Act 2005 … aims to protect
- ACT land and aquatic resources from threats
from pest plants and animals and promotes a
strategic approach to pest management. - Planning and Environment Act 2007 … controls
- planning decisions and how they are
implemented; includes declaration of national
parks, prohibiting certain activities from
catchments, imposing lease and development
conditions, building pollutant traps, requiring
environmental impact assessments, and
requiring development of management
plans for public land. The Territory Plan is
established under this Act. - The Water Resources Act 2007 … ensures efficient
- and equitable management of water resources;
provides for their integrated management;
for preparing management plans; and for
specifying water trading rules, arrangements
for water-sensitive urban design and use of
stormwater; and preventing harm rather than
waiting until it occurs.
Australian Government Legislation
- Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land
- Management Act 1988) (Commonwealth) and
National Capital Plan 1990 … establishes the
National Capital Authority for development
and administration of the National Capital
Plan; includes general land use policies
including promoting Canberra’s natural and
park-like setting, protecting natural resources,
and sympathetic location of utilities and
roads. - Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
- Act 1999 … protects the environment,
particularly matters of national environmental
significance; streamlines assessment and
approvals processes, protects Australian
biodiversity, and integrates management of
important natural and cultural places. - Water Act 2007 … enables the Commonwealth, in
- conjunction with the Basin States, to manage
the Basin water resources in the national
interest to; promote the use and management
of the Basin water resources in a way that
optimises economic, social and environmental
outcomes; improve water security for all uses
of Basin water resources; ensure that the
management of the Basin water resources
takes into account the broader management
of natural resources in the Murray-Darling
Basin; and achieve efficient and cost effective
water management and administrative
practices in relation to Basin water resources.
ACT plans and strategies
- The National Capital Plan … ensures planning
- and development are in accordance with
national significance noting pre-eminence
as the national capital; preservation and
enhancement character and setting; respect
for key elements of Walter Burley Griffin’s
plan; creation, preservation and enhancement
of sites, approaches and backdrops for
national institutions, ceremonies and uses;
respect of environmental values and reflection
of national concerns with sustainability. - The Canberra Plan … addresses the spatial, social
- and economic aspects of the city.
- The Canberra Spatial Plan … outlines a strategic
- direction for managing change and
providing for growth to achieve the social,
environmental and economic sustainability. - The Territory Plan (2008) … ensures planning
- and development in the ACT provides an
attractive, safe and efficient environment in
which to live, work and have their recreation. - Weathering the Change – ACT Climate Change
- Strategy 2007–2025 … an overview of
climate change science, predicted ACT
impacts and the Government’s vision and
direction for response; sets out approaches
the Government will pursue to support the
broader community response to climate
change. - Think water, act water – a strategy for sustainable
- water resource management … takes a
catchment perspective and focuses on the
integration of stormwater, water supply
and wastewater elements, to address key
sustainability targets (reducing per capita use
of mains water, increasing wastewater re-use,
ensuring acceptable levels of nutrients and
sediments entering waterways, and reducing
intensity and volume of urban stormwater
flows). - Future Water Options for the ACT Region –
- Implementation Plan … outlines the preferred
approach for additional water supply, if it is
needed. - ACT and Sub-Region Planning Strategy 1998 … sets
- a strong environmental focus and expresses
a commitment to ecologically sustainable
development and a regional approach
to planning, development and resource
management.Available from ACT public libraries - ACT Nature Conservation Strategy … provides a
- framework for a coordinated and strategic
approach to protection of the biological
diversity of the ACT, and maintenance of
underpinning ecological processes. - A Planning Framework for Natural Ecosystems of the
- ACT and NSW Southern Tablelands (2002)
… outlines a planning framework for natural
ecosystems within the NSW Southern
Tablelands and ACT region; includes regional
principles for planning, development and
conservation and provides a regional context
and structure for integrating scientific data on
natural ecosystems into the land-use decision
making processes of local, state and
Australian government agencies. - Management and implementation plans for public
- land … reflect information and issues
gathered from past processes, the community,
special interest groups, experts and
governments agencies; specific management
principles apply to each plan and provide
guidance on how that area should be
managed. They include the:
Murrumbidgee River Corridor Management
Plan … http://incp.environment.act.gov.au
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve Management
Plan … http://incp.environment.act.gov.au
Australian Alps Cooperative Management Plan
Canberra Nature Park Management Plan
Canberra’s Urban Lakes and Ponds Plan of
Management
Plans of management for the urban parks and
sportsgrounds of Tuggeranong, Woden and
Weston Creek, inner Canberra, Belconnen and
Lake Ginninderra, Gungahlin … - Special issues strategies, and management and
- implementation plans … take a whole of-
Territory or a regional approach and
developed to deal with natural resource
management issues of particular concern.
They include the:
ACT Weeds Strategy …
http://incp.environment.act.gov.au
ACT Vertebrate Pests Strategy …
http://www.tams.act.gov.au
Action Plan for Natural Temperate Grasslands
http://incp.environment.act.gov.au - Catchment management plans for managing land in
- the different Canberra regions include:
Southern ACT Catchment Management Plan
Molonglo Catchment Management Plan
Ginninderra Catchment Management Plan
Monitoring and guidelines
- Environmental Flow Guidelines 2006 … defines and
sets flows for environmental flows.- AUSRIVAS (Australian River Assessment System)
- … used to assess the biological health of
Australian rivers. - Australian Drinking Water Guidelines … specifies
- safe drinking water standards
- Water Sensitive Urban Design … outlines principles
- of water-sensitive urban design
NSW catchment plans
- The Murrumbidgee Catchment Action Plan (NSW)
- … provides direction for investment in
natural resource management through
education, planning and partnership
development; builds on planning and action
already undertaken.
Environmental reporting
- ACT and Region State of the Environment Reporting
- … presents an assessment of environmental
conditions, pressures and responses; analyses
trends, evaluates effectiveness of policies,
establishes a benchmark from which future
environmental changes can be reported
and indicates the conditions that might
be expected in the absence of remedial or
preventative action; advocates an integrated
approach on a catchment basis. - Measuring Our Progress: Canberra’s Journey to
- Sustainability … measures progress towards
sustainability against 11 core sustainability
dimensions using 29 main and 50 other
indicators that have been derived through
research and community consultation;
includes the first ACT ecological footprint.
COAG councils and initiatives
- The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council …
- the primary body responsible for providing
policy and direction to implement the
Murray-Darling Basin Initiative. - Council of Australian Governments Water Reform
- Framework … http://www.environment.gov.au
National and international strategies, agreements
and treaties
- National Water Quality Management Strategy
- National Water Initiative
- Migratory Bird Agreements with China and Japan
- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
- Change
- United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
- United Nations Commission on Sustainable
- Development
- United Nations Forum on Forests
