Environment Protection Reform Consultation: Subordinate Legislation
The practical operation of the new framework for agriculture will be substantially determined by how the regulations, Rules, guidance materials, Rulings, Protection Statements, Registers, data arrangements, and compliance practices are designed and subsequently implemented. NFF has always championed reforms that provide clear, efficient, and more predictable decision-making while maintaining appropriate environmental protections. We remain concerned […]
National Environmental Standard for Environmental Offsets
The proposed Environmental Offsets Standard is not yet sufficiently clear or practical for implementation in agricultural landscapes. There is a need to clearly define how key concepts will work in-practice so that landholders and proponents alike understand their obligations and have confidence to engage with the proposed framework. This includes understanding how concepts such as […]
National Environmental Standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance
At a high-level, NFF does not support the MNES Standard that has been presented. The draft Standard does not provide a clear, practical, or viable pathway for agriculture to assess our obligations or determine whether routine farming activities have a Significant Impact on a MNES. It is therefore unfit-for-purpose and cannot be progressed in its […]
Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill Consultation
NFF supports reforms that strengthen confidence in the ACCU Scheme and improve the integrity and transparency of carbon markets. Integrity reforms must be designed with the practical realities of agricultural participation in mind. Farmers and landholders already face complex Scheme rules, long project timeframes, substantial transaction costs, audit obligations, consent requirements (in some instances), permanence […]
Nature Repair Market: Ongoing Development
The Government’s environmental law reform package was passed on 28 November 2025, including consequential amendments to the Nature Repair Act 2023 to require methodology determinations under Nature Repair to specify whether biodiversity certificates issued for relevant registered projects can be used as environmental offsets under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. As […]
Time to get the Basin Plan right: farmers call for smarter management
As the first comprehensive review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has closed, the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is calling on the Federal Government to seize the moment and deliver a smarter, more balanced approach to water reform and not repeat the mistakes of the past. NFF President Hamish McIntyre said the review marks a critical […]
NFF Submissions: 2026 Murray-Darling Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper and The Menindee Lakes Review
At this stage of implementation, the central issue for the Review is no longer whether additional volumes of water can be recovered through voluntary water purchase, but whether further recovery is justified given the disproportionate and cumulative socio-economic costs already incurred, and the uncertain environmental benefits of additional water recovery in a constrained and highly […]
Productivity Commission Review into National Water Reform 2026
Significant challenges continue to undermine town water security, particularly in regional and remote areas of the Murray-Darling Basin. In these regions, regulatory and funding constraints have repeatedly impeded the construction of critical infrastructure, including weirs and storage upgrades. Consequently, the ability to deliver secure and reliable potable water remains compromised, limiting dependable service outcomes for these […]
National Statement on First Nations in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry
While the draft National Statement acknowledges challenges relating to “complexities of communal land tenure, land rights, and limited access to collateral”, the draft National Statement does not attempt to engage directly with, or alter, established land tenure arrangements. As previously stated, such measures would far exceed the boundaries and purpose of a National Statement. This […]
Farm leaders unite on the Murray to demand smarter Basin management, not more buybacks
As conflict in the Middle East drives uncertainty and tightens pressure on fuel and fertiliser supply, Australia’s peak farming bodies have today stood shoulder to shoulder on the banks of the Murray River, warning the Federal Government not to compound the strain with further water buybacks. The National Farmers’ Federation, alongside NSW Farmers and Victorian […]