25 September 2026. Niki Ford, AgForce CEO.
For more than a year, AgForce has been at the forefront of advocating for an EPBC framework that protects our environment without losing sight of the realities of producing food and fibre.
Now, we are taking that advocacy back to where it matters most – regional Queensland.
This month AgForce begins a statewide EPBC Roadshow, giving producers the opportunity to better understand what the reforms mean for their businesses and, importantly, to speak directly with representatives from the new National Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPBC reforms are significant. Changes to continuing use exemptions, including the 15-year rule, together with new National Environmental Standards and increased compliance expectations, have potentially substantial implications for how producers manage their land.
AgForce has consistently argued that good environmental outcomes and productive agriculture are not competing objectives.
Queensland producers manage some of the most environmentally significant landscapes in Australia. They understand their country, invest in it and adapt their management through drought, flood, fire and changing seasons.
That practical knowledge must be recognised in environmental regulation.
Our advocacy has therefore focused not only on challenging provisions we believe are unworkable, but on putting forward practical alternatives that provide certainty for producers while delivering genuine environmental outcomes.
The Roadshow is the next step in that work.
From Durong and Millmerran to St George, Muckadilla, Longreach, Cloncurry, Quilpie, Augathella, Rolleston and Clarke Creek, we are bringing the conversation directly to producers.
Advocacy is strongest when it is informed by the experience of those directly affected.
I encourage producers to come along, ask questions, challenge assumptions and share what these reforms mean on the ground.
AgForce will continue to be at the table advocating for sensible, workable regulation – but the voices and experiences of Queensland producers are what give that advocacy its strength.
Find a roadshow location near you: https://web.agforceqld.org.au/cn/apjnk/epbc-act-reforms
Note: New location for Central Queensland on 5 November – now at Nebo.
