The Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (Qld) (EPOLA Bill) was passed yesterday. The EPOLA Bill amends the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) with wide ranging implications for Queensland operators, in particular for the resources sector. It also makes minor amendments to the Waste Reduction and recycling Act 2011 (Qld) and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Protection and Management Act 1993 (Qld). Read more

On 4 March 2023, the UN Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (Conference) reached agreement on the text of a new treaty which seeks to protect the marine environment. The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological … Read more

Government has announced that it will review the operation of the Safeguard Mechanism with a view to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s highest emitting facilities. Comments on the discussion paper are due by 20 September 2022, with key issues in the discussion paper being calculation of baselines, the use of crediting mechanisms. Read more

The recent Australian Federal election has resulted in a change of government. While the government is settling in, our Environment, Planning and Communities partners set out their top 5 predictions for coming change on environmental matters, and where the priorities should lie. Read more

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has consolidated 45 State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) and deemed SEPPs into 11 new environmental planning instruments. Read more

On 1 March 2022 the Supreme Court of Western Australia published its decisions in the matters of Conservation Council of Western Australia Inc. v Chairman, Environmental Protection Authority [2022] WASC 58 and Conservation Council of Western Australia Inc. v Chairman, Environmental Protection Authority [2022] WASC 59. The decisions are in respect of the Conservation Council of … Read more

The United Nations Human Rights Council has recognised a universal human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This may influence Australian courts and decision-makers. It is also relevant to how corporates understand their role in protecting human rights and contributing to sustainable economic activity. Read more

DWER recently published the WA Environmental Offsets Calculator and associated guidelines (Environment Offsets Metric: Quantifying Environmental Offsets in Western Australia), creating WA’s new environmental offsets metric. We provide an overview of the key points to note about the offsets metric. Read more