FED Fossil Fuel Projects Get Faster Environmental Permission and New Government Funding

Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Fast Tracking Coal, Gas and Oil Projects) Bill 2026

Opposition Bill

14 Sep 2026: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Senate

House of Representatives

Assent

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Topics

energy infrastructure environmental protection fossil fuels government funding mining

Introduced by: Senator Andrew Bragg (LIB)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Fossil fuel projects can use faster, streamlined environmental assessment pathways.
The Environment Minister can decide that certain fossil fuel projects are excluded from environmental assessments.
Fossil fuel projects can be labelled as 'national interest proposals'. This lets them override bioregional plans.
Fossil fuel projects can be included in priority classes for bioregional development zones.
The Environment Minister can grant exemptions for fossil fuel projects located in conservation zones.
The Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) can directly finance the extraction of coal, crude oil, and natural gas, as well as related infrastructure.
The Environment Minister can create funding programs that subsidise the extraction of coal or natural gas.