Find out early if you need a referral.
Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), an action that is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, such as a threatened species or ecological community, may need to be referred for a decision on whether it requires Commonwealth assessment and approval. In Western Australia that often means black cockatoo habitat, threatened flora or species such as the Greater Bilby.
Trace Ecology helps proponents work out whether a referral is needed and builds the evidence a referral relies on.
We start with a desktop review of protected matters that may occur in the project area, then carry out the flora, vegetation and fauna surveys and habitat assessments needed to test that review on the ground. We assess the likely significance of impacts against the relevant Commonwealth guidelines and advise on avoidance and mitigation options that can be built into project design.
Where a referral is needed, we prepare the supporting ecological information and work with your planning and approvals team on the documentation. The EPBC Act was reformed in 2025. The National Environmental Protection Agency began on 1 July 2026 and the new approval tests start on or before 1 December 2026, so we check current requirements for each project.
Many WA projects also need State approvals, such as a native vegetation clearing permit. See our fauna surveys and flora surveys, or read our guide to EPBC changes from 1 December.
Trace Ecology is a division of Trace Enterprises, which brings heritage, environmental and planning specialists together under one roof.
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Every heritage, environmental and planning project starts with the right conversation.
Tell us what you are planning and where. We'll tell you what assessments and approvals it needs, who should be involved and what happens next.