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(…) Australia also collaborated closely with economies in developing the 2012 APEC List of Environmental Goods, for which tariffs will be reduced to 5% or less by the end of 2015.

(…) During the review period, reforms were undertaken to develop a modern and responsive system that facilitates trade while managing biosecurity risks. (...)

Import prohibitions and restrictions, in the form of generally strict quarantine or technical requirements, have remained in place to preserve, inter alia, human, animal or plant life or health, the environment, safety, or security. (...)

Australia's 2013 annual Tax Expenditures Statement (TES) identifies 355 (337 in 2009) tax expenditures by the Commonwealth Government to benefit a specified activity or class of taxpayer: 108 pertain directly to business income, 25 to commodities (e.g. fuel, alcohol, beer, wine, and tobacco) and other goods (e.g. luxury cars) or broadcasting activities, 13 to natural resources, 29 to GST, and eight to the Carbon Pricing Mechanism (2012/13, 2013/14), which was repealed on 1 July 2014. These tax expenditures are available to domestic and foreign firms; according to the authorities very few tax expenditures relate directly to production and/or trade of goods and/or services. (…)

Since January 2012, Australia's tariff classification system has been based on the HS2012 nomenclature. [9] (…)

[9] The fourth review amendments to the Harmonized System concentrate primarily on environmental and social issues that are of global concern. The 2012 Harmonized System revisions contain approximately 800 amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 affecting 43 of the 98 chapters in the classification, through either note changes or classification changes or both. Extensive revisions affected Chapters 3, 9, 16, 27, 29, 61-62, and 96. Australian Customs and Border Protection Notice No. 2011/12, "2012 Harmonized System Changes". Viewed at: http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/ACNHS2012Final.pdf.

The transaction value method is used in nearly all cases. Instances where other methods are used typically involve situations where no previous sale occurred or the good is of a unique nature (e.g. endangered species or rare antique car).

(…) The Fuel Tax Credits Scheme removes the incidence of excise and excise-equivalent customs duties from the costs of some fuels (including diesel) used in business activities, including specified activities in agriculture, fishing, and forestry (sections 3.4.2 and 4.3.2.3).

An increasing amount is being set aside for conservation or protection purposes. About 18% of Australia's land area is currently managed for conservation.[1] The land management policy includes a focus on flexible approaches to grazing management, to reduce erosion and increase productivity, diminishing the use of agricultural chemicals, and more optimal use of fertilizer. (...) In relation to climate change, Australia's primary industries reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 63% between 1996 and 2016.

[1] National Farmers' Federation, Food, Fibre & Forestry Facts, 2017 edition. Viewed at: https://www.nff.org.au/farm-facts.html.

(...) Under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (GEMS Act), the Commonwealth Government can set mandatory minimum efficiency performance standards (MEPS) and energy-rating label (ERL) requirements for electrical equipment and appliance products. These requirements are set out in legislative instruments called GEMS determinations, which now cover: rotary clothes-dryers; clothes washing machines; dishwashers; household refrigerating appliances; double-capped fluorescent lamps; transformers and electronic step-down converters for ELV lamps; ballasts for fluorescent lamps; compact fluorescent lamps for general lighting services; incandescent lamps for general lighting services; electric water heaters; external power supplies; digital television set top boxes; commercial refrigeration products; power supply transformers; air conditioners; liquid chilling packages; gas water heaters; electric motors (2 phase); and televisions/computers/computer monitors for personal, domestic or household use.

Coal is the principal source of electricity generation, followed by natural gas and renewable sources. Coal accounted for 36% of installed capacity and 60% of generation in 2016. However, since 2010, the share of coal in installed capacity has declined, while those of wind and solar have increased significantly.