Independent review of powers and penalties under the EP Act
Background
An independent review into the adequacy of powers and penalties available under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (the Act) was published along with a Government response in May 2023.
The review was initiated in part due to the significant odour nuisance issues in the Swanbank industrial area and surrounds but has relevance to all of Queensland. It was conducted by retired Judge Richard Jones and Barrister Susan Hedge.
The review aimed to identify whether the tools available, particularly in relation to nuisance, are suitable to deal with the challenges of the future and make recommendations for improving the regulation of Queensland’s environment.
Findings
The review found that the Act generally has an adequate range of powers and penalties to enforce environmental obligations and reduce the risk of environmental harm. However, circumstances were identified (e.g. for nuisance matters) where the powers could be improved.
These recommendations aim to prevent pollution and provide appropriate tools for nuisance matters so that stronger action can be taken against polluters and community health and wellbeing is being protected.
The full list of 18 recommendations is available in the final review report.
Queensland Government response
Several of the recommendations have already been delivered through the Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 which was passed by the Queensland Parliament in March 2023.
For the remaining proposed amendments, a consultation paper was released in 2023 for public feedback. The consultation report provides an overview of the feedback that was provided during the consultation.
Based on this review and the feedback provided during consultation, the Queensland Government has introduced the Environmental Protection (Powers and Penalties) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024.
Under the proposed new laws, there will be more effective protections for communities impacted by environmental issues caused by operators.
The changes will also strengthen the environmental regulator’s power to ensure operators are actively preventing harm to the community. They will give the environmental regulator additional tools to prevent environmental harm before it occurs.
The changes also clarify that nuisance can be material or serious environmental harm opening the way for stronger penalties for persistent issues, such as odour, that are more proportionate to the impact on the community.
The changes will also ensure there is an appropriate emphasis on human health, wellbeing and safety in our environmental legislation, and the focus is shifted to proactive prevention of environmental impacts.