Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

A person (the transferor) who is the holder of an approval under this Part for the purposes of a provision of Part 3 may transfer the approval to another person (the transferee) by written agreement, subject to the Minister’s consent.

The transfer does not have effect for the purposes of this Act until the Minister consents in writing to the transfer. To avoid doubt, the Minister’s consent to a transfer cannot take effect before the Minister gives the consent.

If the Minister consents to the transfer:

this Act (except Division 3) operates in relation to the transferor as if the Minister had revoked the approval when the Minister’s consent took effect; and

this Act operates in relation to the transferee as if, when the Minister’s consent to the transfer took effect, he or she:

had approved under this Part for the purposes of the provision of Part 3 the taking of the action by the transferee; and

had attached to the approval the conditions that were attached to the approval of the taking of the action by the transferor.

In deciding whether or not to consent to the transfer, the Minister may consider:

whether the transferee would be a suitable person to be granted the approval, having regard to:

the transferee’s history in relation to environmental matters; and

if the transferee is a body corporate—the history of its executive officers in relation to environmental matters; and

if the transferee is a body corporate that is a subsidiary of another body or company (the parent body)—the history in relation to environmental matters of the parent body and its executive officers; and

whether the transferee can comply with the conditions attached to the approval.

The Minister must give the transferor and the transferee a copy of the consent each.