Where to now for nature positive?
Author: Lawrence Smith, Executive Director – Commercial
June 9, 2025
News & Insights
Australia’s environment was facing an uncertain future, after the shelving of the Nature Positive Plan earlier this year.
The plan – which set out the Commonwealth Government’s commitment to reform environmental law and regenerate nature – gained some meaningful traction but was then put on hold ahead of the 2025 Federal election.
However, with nature impacts and risks moving up the agenda for corporates and project developers, could the plan be revived in the wake of a new majority government – and, if so, where might we see action?
A brief history
Australia’s Nature Positive Plan was cemented in December 2022, in response to Professor Graeme Samuel AC’s Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) released in 2021, and State of the Environment Report in 2021, which painted a concerning picture of Australia’s environmental health.
The plan outlined the Government’s commitment to delivering a nature positive economy by developing stronger laws and a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would be “better for the environment, better for business”, according to then-Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek.
The plan made headway in 2023: with the introduction of the Nature Repair Market Bill – the first step towards establishing a voluntary national market for biodiversity credits to incentivise private investment in nature repair projects.
Momentum continued in 2024: with the government introducing legislation for the second stage of the reforms, which set out to establish a federal EPA and make significant amendments to the EPBC Act around approvals and enforcement.
These bills passed the House of Representatives in July 2024 and soon after, the government also ran a Global Nature Positive Summit in October, which further reinforced their commitment to this important cause.
However, by late 2024: the government was facing a lack of support in the Senate for the stage two legislation and in early 2025, ahead of the Western Australia State election and looming Federal election, the government announced it would not proceed with the remaining reforms during its current term.
Where to next?
We know the topic of nature is still high on the government’s agenda, with new Environment Minister Murray Watt recently commenting:
“These reforms to the laws have been coming for a long time. Everyone I speak to, no matter what side of the argument they’re from, wants to see change. They want to see change quickly. We have been given a mandate from the Australian people to get on with it, and so that’s my intention is to move as quickly as we can.”
Minister Watt also posted on social media about a meeting with Professor Graeme Samuel AC, author of the 2021 review into environmental laws, indicating this topic is a priority of the new government.
Next steps are not yet clear: the focus will likely be on the aspects of the stage two Nature Positive legislation that was paused, including:
- A legislative definition of ‘nature positive’
- Establishing an independent environmental data and information body
- Establishing the EPA as the Federal independent regulator
- Amendments to the EPBC, particularly around compliance, enforcement and penalties
Good news though for the first part of the reforms, with the first methodology for the Nature Repair Market announced back in March – so the industry is moving quickly to get early projects up and running.
Nature still on the agenda
While the future of the government’s plan may be unclear, the growing momentum behind nature positivity globally does point to a ‘greener’ future.
Frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) continue to see an uplift in participation, with 25 Australian organisations now voluntarily reporting their nature-related impacts.
In the wider business community, interest is growing in a range of conservation and biodiversity initiatives from the Nature Repair Market to Accounting for Nature from various sectors including investors, agriculture and resources.
And Australian people are still expecting to see action on nature, with the 2025 Biodiversity Concerns Report (released just before the election) showing that 96% of Australians believe more action is needed to look after the natural environment.
How can Niche help?
Whatever the outcome of the Nature Positive legislation, Niche is here to help companies understand their impacts on nature, develop nature and biodiversity strategies, and unlock opportunities in emerging nature markets.
For more information on how we can help you, get in touch with us today.
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About the author
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Lawrence Smith GAICD
Executive Director – Commercial
