New documents suggest the Commonwealth wants to reduce its role in environmental decision-making.

The Morrison Government is reportedly considering using a little-known section of national environmental laws to allow developments to proceed without the need for federal approval.

It could allow the government to avoid trying to pass a bill to transfer power to the states and territories, which has been blocked by the Senate since last year.

A review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act last year called for an overhaul of Australia’s environmental protections, allowing states and territories to take responsibility for environmental decisions under the act. 

However, it has failed to gain enough support in the Senate, partly because the Morrison government rejected the environmental standards recommended by the review and instead drafted a weaker version of its own.

Now, internal documents obtained by Guardian Australian under Freedom of Information laws show the government could instead rely on another section of the act that allows for regional planning of conservation.

National laws allow the environment minister to create what is known as a ‘regional plan’, covering a broad range of biodiversity, social and economic factors. The laws have previously only been used in marine areas to guide conservation and industrial activities.

The documents also cover another section of the act that allows the federal environment minister to exempt certain development activities from the requirement to gain federal environmental approval if those projects are covered by a regional plan.

More details are accessible here.