EPA Collaboration with Australia
On October 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen environmental protection, protect human health, and advance sustainability objectives. The MOU is initially focused on cooperation that furthers Australia’s reform of federal environmental regulation in Australia with the objective of creating a new national environmental protection agency. As this new “EPA Australia” develops, cooperation will expand to share information and knowledge on a range of areas.
Explore our work in Australia:
Recent Events
September 2024: EPA hosted Australia EPA Transition Taskforce Branch Head Carmen Dwyer for a series of informational meetings in Washington, DC. As Australia takes steps to create their first national environmental regulatory agency, these consultations with senior EPA officials and program staff provided insight into foundational concepts of agency composition, design, and governance; scientific integrity; geospatial resources; and environmental administrative law and adjudication. Meetings also paved the way for future cooperation.
April 2024: OITA Assistant Administrator Jane Nishida joined over 250 members of the EPA Australia Transition Taskforce as a guest in their virtual “fireside chat” program. The series of discussions with global environmental protection leaders was held by Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water to inform and inspire personnel that are creating and will make up the new planned Australia EPA. AA Nishida discussed how EPA engages and demonstrates leadership internationally, how EPA works with tribal and state governments, and other facets of EPA’s operations. Kenneth Martin, Director of EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office, went into further detail on EPA’s programs with tribes and what it means to be a lead these programs as someone with American Indian heritage.
Activities
Building Strong Institutions and Legal Structures
EPA shares our experience and lessons learned with Australian government officials both at the national and state level, the business community, as well as stakeholders, regarding environmental policy development, chemicals, enforcement, and emergency response. EPA regularly has topical information exchanges with New South Wales EPA. Past discussions have focused on topics including resource recovery, “forever chemicals” such as PFAS, data reporting processes, and institutional continuous improvement.
In their Nature Positive Plan, the Australian national government signaled their intent to establish a new environmental protection agency with strong environmental review, regulatory, and enforcement powers. EPA is collaborating with the Australian government to share U.S. perspectives and lessons learned on issues such as legal structures, enforcement, transboundary pollution, international cooperation, and working indigenous peoples.
In addition, international research projects foster scientist-to-scientist dialogue and cooperation. Discussions also take place under U.S.-Australia Science &Technology (S&T) Agreement workgroups, led by the U.S. Department of State.
Environmental Enforcement and Compliance
Strengthening regional and global environmental enforcement and compliance has been a priority for EPA in our work with Australia. EPA, the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), which is an EPA grantee, and other collaborators are partnering with the Australian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators Network (AELERT) in their delivery of the 2024 Global Summit for Implementing and Enforcing Environmental Law in Brisbane, Australia. Officials from EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance will contribute presentations on themes of addressing 21st century challenges, foundations of robust environmental enforcement programs, and regulatory effectiveness.
EPA was proud to work with INECE and AELERT to support the 2020 conference Environmental Collaboration: Shaping the Future of Regulation, Compliance and Enforcement Together in Adelaide, Australia to convene, exchange knowledge, and strengthen alliances within the international community.
EPA has also participated in exchanges with agencies in Australia on matters including criminal environmental investigations, innovative approaches that foster real-time monitoring such as EPA’s Compliance and Emissions Data Reporting Interface (CEDRI) and Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO), and other periodic meetings on civil and criminal enforcement.
Improving Access to Clean Water
Historical collaboration with Australia has focused on sustainable water management issues. Both countries face many common water quality and quantity issues such as increasing growth, drought, flooding, aging infrastructure and climate change, all of which add stress to limited resources. More recently, EPA has held a dialogue with Australasian companies about available technologies for treating PFAS-impacted water.
Cooperation on Air Quality
EPA and our Australian counterparts have a history of exchanging experiences and lessons on addressing the reduction of air emissions. Additionally, EPA partners with Australia to address methane emissions through the Global Methane Initiative.
Australia's participation in the Global Methane Initiative
Key Partners
The following links exit the site:
- Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- New South Wales Environment Protection Authority
- Victoria Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action
- Australasian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators Network
- U.S. Embassy in Australia
Agreements
- Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. EPA and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of the Government of Australia (2023) (pdf) (307K)
- U.S.-Australia Science &Technology (S&T) Agreement (pdf) (309K)