Environmental Reporting Amendment Bill

The Act helps make reliable environmental data and research available to the public and decision makers. 
 
Experience and feedback show the Act needs updating so the reporting programme is more efficient and flexible, and the Act continues to work as intended.

The Environmental Reporting Amendment Bill changes the Environmental Reporting Act 2015 to:

• make the Act’s role clearer, including how it supports independent, regular and trusted reporting on the state of the environment
• remove legal barriers that make the reporting programme less efficient or effective
• help the reporting programme work well and reduce costs, especially for local government
• set clear expectations for good practice in environmental reporting.

The amendments would:

• clarify the purpose of the Act, including how environmental reporting is intended to be used and what it should achieve
• reduce the number of required reports, while allowing more flexible reporting on environmental issues that are complex or connected
• strengthen how environmental data is collected and how standards for collecting data are set
• require a report every six years on priorities for improving environmental data, monitoring and research
• add drivers and outlooks to environmental reports 
• allow reporting on progress towards priorities set by government without needing future changes to the Act
• clarify the roles of the Secretary for the Environment and the Government Statistician, reduce overlap and set out when agencies need to consult each other
• establish a Strategic Evidence Panel to provide independent expert advice and identify emerging trends.

Drivers are forces that affect the environment, such as social, economic, cultural, political or natural factors. Outlooks describe how the environment may change in the future.

Read Environmental Reporting Act 2015 Amendments cabinet papers.

Read a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed changes.