Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00598:section:26
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00598
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 26
Character Range: 127444–129498

26  Requirement for approval of activities involving Commonwealth land

Actions on Commonwealth land
 (1) A person must not take on Commonwealth land an action that has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment.
Civil penalty:
 (a) for an individual—1,000 penalty units;
 (b) for a body corporate—10,000 penalty units.

Actions outside Commonwealth land affecting that land
 (2) A person must not take outside Commonwealth land an action that:
 (a) has or will have a significant impact on the environment on Commonwealth land; or
 (b) is likely to have a significant impact on the environment on Commonwealth land.
Civil penalty:
 (a) for an individual—1,000 penalty units;
 (b) for a body corporate—10,000 penalty units.

Exceptions to prohibitions
 (3) Subsection (1) or (2) does not apply to an action if:
 (a) an approval of the taking of the action by the person is in operation under Part 9 for the purposes of the subsection; or
 (b) Part 4 lets the person take the action without an approval under Part 9 for the purposes of the subsection; or
 (d) there is in force a decision of the Minister under Division 2 of Part 7 that the subsection is not a controlling provision for the action and, if the decision was made because the Minister believed the action would be taken in a manner specified in the notice of the decision under section 77, the action is taken in that manner; or
 (e) the action is an action described in subsection 160(2) (which describes actions whose authorisation is subject to a special environmental assessment process); or
 (f) the person taking the action is the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency.
Note 1: This section protects (among other things) the Commonwealth Heritage values of a Commonwealth Heritage place on Commonwealth land, because the heritage values of a place are part of the environment. See the definition of environment in section 528.
Note 2: Section 28 regulates actions by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency with a significant impact on the environment.