Australian Conservation Foundation Inc v Minister for the Environment and Water; Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc v Minister for the Environment and Water

On October 10, 2025, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), represented by Environmental Justice Australia, brought judicial review proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia challenging the Australian Environment Minister’s decision to approve an application to extend the operation of a large gas processing facility until 2070 (the North West Shelf Project Extension). The Minister approved the project following an environmental impact assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (Cth) 1999 (EPBC Act). The EPBC Act is Australia’s primary federal environmental legislation.

The ACF proceedings were heard alongside a separate challenge brought by Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc (FARA). While both proceedings challenge the same approval decision, they rely on different legal arguments.

Both proceedings concern government decision making regarding fossil fuel projects and the proper interpretation of key provisions in the environmental impact assessment process under Australia’s federal environmental laws. Broadly, ACF and FARA argue that the Minister made legal errors when approving the project and that the approval decision should be set aside.

ACF also challenged the Minister’s refusal of a reconsideration request which called on the Minister to consider the climate impacts of the project. The project is expected to result in approximately 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in its lifetime. Specifically, ACF challenged the Minister’s finding that the project could not properly be considered to be a substantial cause of climate harms on protected matters.

The proceedings also concern the project’s impact upon the Dampier Archipelago National Heritage Place, or Murujuga, which is thought to contain more than 1 million rock engravings, and represents one of the most dense and diverse collections of rock engravings in the world. The Murujuga Cultural Landscape was also added to the World Heritage List in 2025.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment was granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in these proceedings.

The hearing was held on July 21 to 24, 2026. Judgment has been reserved, and the online file can be accessed here https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/australian-conservation-foundation-inc.