Image: Adrian Guerin

The broad questions that the Review is seeking to answer are:

Is the EPBC effectively delivering what was intended?

Is it up to future challenges?

How well is the Act being administered (e.g. enforcement, funding, implementation etc)?

What are the priority areas for reform?

What changes are needed? Why?

Use this example submission as a guide to writing your own. Submissions don’t need to be long - aim for between 300-600 words if you can.







Step 1: Start by addressing the reviewer and panel

Dear Professor Samuel and Independent Review Panel,

I would like to make a submission into the 2019-2020 Independent Review of the EPBC Act. This submission will cover [add any of the below points you will address and remove any that you won’t address in this submission]

The issues I see with how the EPBC Act fails to protect the environment, especially matters of national environmental significance;

The lack of community consultation under the current Act

What needs to change to ensure the EPBC Act works as it was intended

Step 2: Introduce yourself and describe your connection to nature

What do you connect most with in nature? (eg. forests)

Why? (eg. love camping)

What is an issue affecting that part of the environment you love? (eg. deforestation). Be specific: is there something you've seen or observed personally?

Tip: The more personal your submission is, the more powerful its impact. This section should account for the bulk of your submission.

Step 3: The solution

What do you want the independent review panel to do about this problem? Give them the solution - refer to one OR several of the recommendations below.

Recommendations (solutions)

Tip: Select any or all of these, that link back to your concerns (you can copy and paste them straight from this document)

Australia cannot return to business as usual after the catastrophic 2019-2020 summer bushfires. The same laws and policies that have failed wildlife over decades and done little to address the climate crisis can’t be relied on to help us recover after the bushfires.

Create a new National Environment Act that enshrines Federal Government leadership over nature protections, contains real safeguards against extinction, including ending the destruction of endangered species habitat, and sets out clear rights of appeal and consultation for communities.

Develop and implement recovery plans for threatened species, which the Act has largely failed to do in its 20 years.

Establish an independent National Environment Commission to ensure we develop a fit-for-purpose, coordinated national (state and federal) system of environmental protections and policy responses necessary to support restoration of our environment to health and ensure regulatory resilience to future impacts, publicly report every year on the impact of conservation action and funding, and show clearly whether natural values are recovering.

Establish an independent Environment Protection Agency to act as watch-dog over government, and ensure our laws are properly enforced.

Ensure that sufficient money, people and resources are put in place so that nature can recover.

Ensure a central role for community, with guaranteed rights and participation in planning and decision-making.

Step 4: Thank the panel, include your name, contact information and photo

Thank you for your consideration of my submission, if you wish to contact me about the contents of my submission I can be reached at [email]

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[PHOTO OF YOU IN NATURE]

Tip: When reviewing your submission, make sure to delete any text from this guide in your submission that does not sound like your own words.

Step 5: Reference your facts

Reference any facts that you included in your submission to support your story. If you’re unsure about how to reference properly, we’d recommend using a site like Cite This For Me, which does most of the work for you.

Unsure about where to get the facts from? Think about news sources you trust, recent reports on the issue you’re speaking about (e.g. deforestation) or reputable organisations.

Tip: Remember, this isn’t an academic report so only use facts where they support your claims or experiences .

Step 6: Make your submission online and let us know

a.) Email a copy of your submission to your local Wilderness Society Organiser or to Lead Community Organiser Kaine Johnson...now you’re ready to submit!

b.) Go to the EPBC Act Review submission site.

c.) At Question 7, add your attachment - the submission document - ignore the other questions.







Image: Adrian Guerin

Why is your voice important?

After our catastrophic summer of bushfires, including the loss of millions of native animals and hectares of some of the most biodiverse forests in the world, it is important that the Government hears the call for nature laws that work.

The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) is our most significant piece of federal environmental legislation, and it’s up for its once in a decade review. The current review of the failed EPBC is an opportunity to make sure that the government hears your stories about why nature must be protected and understands your concerns.

You don't need technical expertise to understand that the current laws are failing us. The Review needs to hear your lived experience about the natural values you love and the changes you’ve seen in them.

Your stories powerfully illustrate the larger problems we’re talking about and will demonstrate the breadth and depth of Australians' love of their natural world. This guide is designed to help make the submission writing process as simple as possible. That said, the more unique your submission is the more powerful it is, so we encourage you to personalise any of the suggested text below.

The most important thing is to be concise and get across your thoughts and lived experiences, rather than external expertise: your submission will not be more effective because it is long, overly technical, or opinionated.