Authorised Council officers are given broad powers to enter and search premises under a range of legislation, including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act), the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act) and the Protection of the Environment…
Before taking enforcement action, it is critical for the enforcement agency to identify the correct perpetrator. A failure to do so may result in the validity of the enforcement action being successfully challenged or defeated. This issue regularly arises in…
The Land and Environment Court recently handed down a decision dealing with the interrelation between the integrated development regime established under Div 4.8 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1975 (EP&A Act) and the regime for the provision of…
A recent decision by the Land and Environment Court provides a useful example of the common law defences that may be raised against a charge of an environmental offence, as well as a good reminder of how difficult it can…
A recent decision by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) confirms that the Land and Environment Court (LEC) has the power to summarily dismiss a summary prosecution prior to final hearing when an essential condition of criminality cannot be…
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (‘EPA‘) has released a draft Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022 (‘Draft Regulation‘) for public consultation. The Draft Regulation proposes to remake the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2021 (‘2021 Regulation‘), which…
The Environmental Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Amendment Act) has come into force, making significant amendments to environmental protection legislation in NSW. This is our second blog on the Amendment Act. We previously discussed the imposition of new liabilities on current…
The Environmental Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Amendment Act) has come into force, making significant amendments to environmental protection legislation in NSW. The Amendment Act primarily seeks to overcome practices that certain industry sectors, businesses and individuals have established to avoid…
In a recent decision of the NSW Land and Environment Court (Court), the Court considered how investigative powers under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) can be used to gather a broad range of evidence and…
As we all look forward to returning to our local restaurants, pubs and cafes the NSW Government has released their ‘Alfresco Restart Package’. Included in the Alfresco Restart Package are changes to the planning rules to enable premises across the…
The Land and Environment Court’s decision in McClelland v Environment Protection Authority [2021] NSWLEC 25, considers what constitutes the wilful delay or obstruction of an authorised officer in the exercise of the officer’s powers of investigation, contrary to s211(3) of…
Justice Preston, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, recently issued judgment against the Sydney Water Corporation (Sydney Water) in proceedings brought by JK Williams Staff Pty Ltd (Williams) for the significant erosion of the…