Changes to Queensland environmental protection legislation to take effect

The 2022 Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act (Qld), known as the ‘EPOLA Act’, was passed by the Queensland parliament in March. The new Act makes significant amendments to Queensland environmental laws, including the 1994 Environment Protection Act (Qld) (EP Act).

The reforms include changes to executive officer liability, increased financial thresholds for environmental harm, changes to the environmental impact statement (EIS) process and some changes to the process for modifying environmental authorities for resource activities.

Project proponents for industrial sites should consider these amendments in their approval strategies, and existing operators should review and update their compliance frameworks if necessary.

Changes to executive officer liability provisions

Executive liability provisions have been extended to apply to executive officers who were in office at the time the acts and omissions that led to the offence occurred, even if they were not an officer at the time the relevant offence occurred.

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has also been given the power to require a corporation to nominate an executive officer or employee to answer questions on behalf of the corporation. This reflects the New South Wales position, where the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority frequently interviews executive officers or employees whose responses then bind the company.

Changes to financial thresholds for environmental harm

Financial thresholds for environmental harm have been changed from:

• A$5,000 to A$10,000 for ‘material environmental harm’; and
• A$50,000 to A$100,000 for ‘serious environmental harm’.

The increased financial thresholds are more closely aligned to those in other states and territories, and will impact:

• requirements to notify environmental incidents to DES;
• maximum penalties for causing environmental harm;
• the threshold for inclusion of land in the Contaminated Land Register; and
• when regulators can exercise powers to investigate or make directions.

From the end of the 2023 financial year, these new thresholds will be indexed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all groups for Brisbane on an annual basis.

Changes to environmental impact statement requirements

The EPOLA Act introduces a number of changes to the EIS process under the EP Act, including requiring the proponent to summarise potential adverse environmental impacts and mitigating measures when submitting draft terms of reference.

The chief executive of DES is also required to refuse draft terms of reference or prevent the EIS from proceeding if the project is likely to fail to meet legal requirements. This includes circumstances in which the project would:

• give rise to an unacceptable risk of serious or material environmental harm;
• have an unacceptable adverse impact on a matter of state or national environmental significance; or
• have an unacceptable adverse impact on an area of cultural heritage significance.

Changes to the EIS process also remove the ability of a proponent to appeal a decision to refuse to proceed with an EIS directly to the minister. Instead, proponents may commence a merits appeal to the Land Court. The EPOLA Act also clarifies that EIS assessment reports will lapse after three years, unless extended on application.

Changes to environment authority provisions

The EPOLA Act also amends the environmental authority provisions of the EP Act to require public notification of any major amendments to an environmental authority for a resource activity. This will increase the level of public scrutiny and lengthen the approval process for changes to resource activity environmental authorities.

It also reduces the information requirements for environmental authorities to conduct research into or test technology or processes relating to an environmentally relevant authority for a maximum term of three years.