Striking the balance in environmental protection reform was the "hardest task" facing the Labor government, as Environment Minister Murray Watt introduced 1500 pages of changes to laws on Thursday.
Conservation groups argue the reform package does not go far enough to protect nature, while business groups have called for a streamlined approvals process.
Labor faces an uphill battle to pass the reforms before the end of the year, as the government has not yet secured support from either the coalition or the Greens.
Swinburne renewables expert Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian said reform was long overdue, as it had been decades since environmental protection systems had last been updated.
"If we really want to actually develop and progress our energy transition, which is one of the key elements protecting our environment and mitigating climate change, we have to increase the pace of renewable energy developments," Associate Professor Seyedmahmoudian told AAP.
"One of the things that I haven't seen in the bill is bringing the community to invest and participate in our renewable energy integration."
Communities needed to be invited to participate in energy practices and have mechanisms created to allow them to invest in projects, Assoc Prof Seyedmahmoudian said.
Australian Conservation Foundation acting chief executive officer Paul Sinclair said weak laws would put more valuable forests under a bulldozer and contribute to the destruction of the nation's natural wealth.
"They're not good enough," he said.
The package does not include a "climate trigger" to stop coal and gas projects, a mechanism ruled out by Senator Watt, who says the safeguard mechanism already curbs the emissions of Australia's biggest polluters.
Environmental Defenders Office managing lawyer Revel Pointon said the failure to assess the climate impacts of projects ran counter to international law as laid out in a recent advisory opinion from the World Court.
In the landmark opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice earlier in 2025, the judges specified fossil fuel production could constitute an "internationally wrongful act".
Under the reforms, major emitting project proponents will need to disclose estimates of scope one and two greenhouse gas emissions.
Industry has welcomed efforts to streamline approvals and remove duplication but has taken issue with elements of the reforms.Â
Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black called for an "appropriately focused" Environmental Protection Agency and the timely accreditation of states and territories to start delivering assessments and approvals for new federal standards.
Project approval timelines have blown out by 70 weeks since nature laws were first introduced 25 years ago, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water analysis suggests.
Greens leader Larissa Waters described it as "gift-wrapped for big business", while opposition environment spokeswoman Angie Bell was not convinced the changes would give certainty to business.
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