On 5 March 2014, the Senate referred the following matter to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 16 June 2014:

The history, appropriateness and effectiveness of the use of environmental offsets in federal environmental approvals in Australia, including:

1. the principles that underpin the use of offsets;
2. the processes used to develop and assess proposed offsets;
3. the adequacy of monitoring and evaluation of approved offsets arrangements to determine whether promised environmental outcomes are achieved over the short and long term; and
4. any other related matters

That in conducting the inquiry the committee consider the terms of reference in (1) with specific regard to, but not restricted to, the following projects:

1. Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Project;
2. Waratah Coal’s Galilee Coal Project;
3. QGC’s Queensland Curtis LNG project;
4. North Queensland Bulk Port’s Abbot Point Coal Terminal Capital Dredging Project; and
5. Jandakot Airport developments.

Submissions should be received by 4 April 2014. The reporting date is 16 June 2014. On 16 June 2014 the Senate granted an extension of time to report until 25 June 2014.