Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

If the Environment Agency Head is of the opinion that any action is being, or is about to be, carried out (or that any action that should be carried out is not being carried out) in any area of land that is likely to result in a contravention of this Act or the native vegetation legislation, the Environment Agency Head may order—

that the action cease and not be carried out within the period of 40 days (or a lesser specified period) after the order is made, or

in the case of action that is not being carried out—that the action be carried out within the period specified in the order.

For the purposes of this section, an act is likely to result in such a contravention if the Environment Agency Head has reasonable cause to suspect that it is likely to do so. The Environment Agency Head is not required to establish that any defence to a prosecution for the contravention is not available.

The Environment Agency Head is not required, before making a stop work order, to notify any person who may be affected by the order.