Gilbert + tobin - Gilbert and Tobin

14. environmental law
Each Australian state and territory bears responsibility for
enacting and enforcing environmental laws in Australia. In recent
years there is an increasing appetite for both State and Federal
Governments to introduce complex legislation, mechanisms and
policies to regulate industry sectors that have the potential to
impact the environment. As a result, the environmental risks (as
well as opportunities) for businesses looking to operate in
Australia is on the rise. This means that foreign companies need to
inform themselves of the multiplicity of laws that may affect their
operations.
At the federal level, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) regulates development that impacts
on matters of “National Environmental Significance”. The Federal
Government has also introduced a suite of clean energy legislation
to implement the carbon pricing mechanism, carbon farming
initiative and renewable energy target schemes. Together, these
regulatory changes aim to reduce Australia’s carbon emissions and
facilitate investment in clean energy projects.
At the state and territory level, environmental laws are generally
split between two main categories:
+ + environmental protection law (including land contamination,
protection of threatened species, water usage, pollution and
waste disposal, European and Aboriginal heritage and native
title rights); and
+ + planning law.
In recent years, the powers of government agencies to investigate
and enforce compliance with planning and environmental laws
have been significantly strengthened in Australia.
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