Coal, gas and oil could get fast approvals again
Senator Andrew Bragg wants to undo a set of recent rules. They keep coal, oil and gas projects out of fast nature approvals, public loans and some tax breaks. It touches miners, gas companies, and anyone who cares about how nature is protected.
Official name: Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Fast Tracking Coal, Gas and Oil Projects) Bill 2026
- Recent laws put coal, oil and gas projects in a slower lane. They also blocked them from some public money.
- This bill would remove those bans across six different laws.
- Coal, oil and gas projects could get fast nature approvals. They could be called projects in the national interest.
- Government lenders could pay for coal and gas mining and gas pipelines again.
- It is a private bill from Senator Andrew Bragg. It is still before the Senate.
Who it affects
- Coal, oil and gas companies: They could use the fast nature approval paths and ask government lenders for loans and help.
- Hydrogen makers using coal or gas: Hydrogen made from coal or gas could count for a clean hydrogen tax break that now leaves it out.
- The Environment Minister: The minister could fast-track, let off or put first coal, oil and gas projects. Recent changes stopped this.
- People living near new mines or gas fields: Projects near them could be approved through quicker paths with fewer of the usual checks.
Fossil fuels kept off fast-track
In 2025 Parliament passed a big set of changes to nature law. It is called the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025. Among many other things, it treated coal, oil and gas projects differently from other projects.
Under those changes, a "fossil fuel action" cannot use the quickest nature approval paths. It cannot be named a project in the national interest. Other laws also stop government lenders and funds from paying to dig up coal, oil and gas.
Senator Andrew Bragg brought this bill to the Senate. It is a private bill. That means it did not come from the government. His notes on the bill say it will "restore equal legislative standing" for coal, oil and gas. That means equal treatment in law. He says projects should be judged on what they add to the economy and the country.
The notes also say the bill keeps a fast path for projects that matter most to the nation. They say this means "the usual environmental standards would not apply". They say this fast path would also cover projects such as housing and large wind or solar farms.
Main environment law changes
The main national law for protecting nature is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Big projects that could harm rare plants, animals or special places need approval under it.
The bill would delete seven pieces of this law that the 2025 changes added. Each one now blocks coal, oil and gas projects from a shortcut or a special status.
After the change, a coal, oil or gas project could get a quicker check of its effects on nature. The minister could also decide that it does not need the full approval process.
The minister could also call one of these projects a project in the national interest. In some places that can win over a regional plan. A regional plan sets out where building can happen in an area and where nature is protected.
Coal, oil and gas projects could be put first in zones set aside for building. The minister could give them let-offs in nature zones. Those are areas set aside to protect nature.
The bill would also delete the legal meaning of "fossil fuel action". With no meaning in the law, the nature law would no longer single these projects out.
Export loans for fossil fuels
Export Finance Australia is the government's lender for firms that sell overseas and for big overseas projects. Section 23C of its law bans it from paying directly to dig up coal, crude oil or natural gas. It also cannot pay for linked roads, ports and pipes, or for investments in using these fuels.
The bill would delete that ban. It would also tidy up a note. The note would say a minister's order can still stop some requests going to the minister.
Say a gas company wants a loan backed by the government to build a new export terminal. That is a port where gas is loaded onto ships. Today Export Finance Australia must say no. Under this bill it could think about the request.
Industry grants and funds
The Industry Research and Development Act 1986 lets the minister set up money programs for industry. Right now it bans programs that help pay to dig up coal or natural gas. The bill would remove that ban.
Future Made in Australia is the government's plan to help build new local industries. Its law now bans federal bodies from giving that help to digging up coal, oil and gas. It also bans help for linked roads, ports and pipes, or investments in these fuels. The bill would delete that ban.
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation is a government fund. It lends to Australian factories and industry. Its law stops it from paying directly to dig up coal or gas, or to build gas pipelines. The bill would delete that rule too.
Clean hydrogen tax break
Hydrogen is a gas that can be burned for energy. It does not make carbon dioxide, the main gas that warms the planet, where it is used. There is a tax break for making hydrogen. The Clean Energy Regulator, the agency that runs clean energy schemes, decides which ways of making it count.
At the moment, hydrogen made from coal or natural gas cannot count. One way turns coal into gas. Another way, called steam methane reforming, makes hydrogen from natural gas.
The bill would end that rule. Hydrogen made from coal or gas could then get the tax break if it meets the other rules.
Transition rules
The bill would let the minister in charge write short-term rules. They would handle the switch from the old rules to the new ones.
Those rules could not create crimes or fines. They could not give powers to arrest or search. They could not set a tax, spend money, or change the words of the Act.
Waiting in the Senate
Most of the bill would start the day after it became law. A bill becomes law when the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General stands in for the King. The nature law changes would start then, or right after the matching 2025 changes start, whichever comes later.
Senator Bragg brought the bill into the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, on 14 September 2026. The debate on its main idea began the same day.
The bill is still before the Senate. Senators would need to debate it and vote for it. Then the House of Representatives, the lower house, would need to pass it before it could become law.
Its journey through Parliament
| 14 Sep 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 14 Sep 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |