Chapter 6 Environmental audits
171 Relationship of this Chapter to other provisions
(1) This Chapter does not affect other provisions of this Act, which provide for:(a) conditions on environment protection licences requiring:(i) monitoring or testing, or(ii) reporting on monitoring or testing, and(b) functions exercisable by the appropriate regulatory authority or authorised officers for the purpose of auditing compliance with this Act, the regulations and conditions of licences.(2) This Chapter does not affect provisions of this or any other Act relating to pollution reduction programs or industry waste reduction programs.
172 Nature of environmental audit
An environmental audit is a documented evaluation of an activity (including an evaluation of management practices, systems and plant) for either or both of the following purposes:(a) to provide information to the persons managing the activity on compliance with legal requirements, codes of practice and relevant policies relating to the protection of the environment,(b) to enable those persons to determine whether the way the activity is carried on can be improved in order to protect the environment and to minimise waste.
173 Accreditation and regulation of environmental auditors
The regulations may make provision for or with respect to either or both of the following:(a) the accreditation of environmental auditors for the purposes of this Chapter,(b) the carrying out of environmental audits by environmental auditors.
Part 6.2 Mandatory environmental audits
174 Conditions for mandatory environmental audits
(1) The conditions of a licence may require a mandatory environmental audit to be undertaken to the satisfaction of the appropriate regulatory authority.(2) Such a condition must specify the purpose of the audit.(3) Such a condition may require:(a) appointment of an environmental auditor to undertake the audit, and(b) approval by the appropriate regulatory authority of the environmental auditor before being appointed, and(c) preparation of written documentation during the course of the audit, and(d) preparation of an audit report, and(e) production to the appropriate regulatory authority of the audit report.(4) Such a condition may:(a) specify the format and level of detail required for the audit, or(b) require the environmental auditor to submit the proposed format and level of detail to the appropriate regulatory authority for approval.
175 Circumstances in which mandatory environmental audit can be imposed
Conditions requiring the undertaking of a mandatory environmental audit may only be imposed if the appropriate regulatory authority reasonably suspects:(a) that the holder of the licence has on one or more occasions contravened this Act, the regulations or the conditions of the licence, and(b) that the contravention or contraventions have caused, are causing or are likely to cause, harm to the environment.
176 Certification of audit report
The audit report for a mandatory environmental audit is taken not to have been duly produced to the appropriate regulatory authority unless it is accompanied by:(a) a declaration signed by the holder of the licence certifying that the holder has not knowingly provided any false or misleading information to the environmental auditor and has provided all relevant information to the auditor, and(b) a declaration signed by the environmental auditor:(i) setting out the auditor’s qualifications, and(ii) certifying that the report is accurate, and that the auditor has not knowingly included any false or misleading information in it or failed to include any relevant information in it.
(1) False or misleading information to auditor
A person who provides information to an environmental auditor in connection with a mandatory environmental audit, knowing the information to be false or misleading in a material respect, is guilty of an offence.(2) Information not provided to auditor
The holder of a licence who fails to provide information to an environmental auditor in connection with a mandatory environmental audit being carried out in relation to the licence, knowing the information to be materially relevant to the audit, is guilty of an offence.(3) False or misleading information in audit report
An environmental auditor who includes information in an audit report produced to the appropriate regulatory authority in connection with a mandatory environmental audit, knowing the information to be false or misleading in a material respect, is guilty of an offence.(4) Information not included in audit report
An environmental auditor who fails to provide information in an audit report produced to the appropriate regulatory authority in connection with a mandatory environmental audit, knowing the information to be materially relevant to the audit, is guilty of an offence.(5) Retention of audit documentation
The holder of a licence who:(a) fails to retain any written documentation required to be prepared by the holder in connection with a mandatory environmental audit for a period of at least 5 years after the audit report concerned was produced to the appropriate regulatory authority (or such other period as is prescribed by the regulations), or(b) fails to produce during that period any such documentation to the appropriate regulatory authority on request,is guilty of an offence.Maximum penalty:
• in the case of a corporation—$250,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $120,000 for each day the offence continues, or• in the case of an individual—$120,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $60,000 for each day the offence continues.
178 Self-incriminatory information not exempt
Information must be supplied by a person in connection with a mandatory environmental audit, and this Part applies to any such information that is supplied, whether or not the information might incriminate the person.
(1) Any information in an audit report or other documentation supplied to the appropriate regulatory authority in connection with a mandatory environmental audit may be taken into consideration by the appropriate regulatory authority and used for the purposes of this Act.(2) Without limiting the above, any such information is admissible in evidence in any prosecution of the holder of a licence for any offence (whether under this Act or otherwise).
Part 6.3 Voluntary environmental audits
180 Nature of voluntary environmental audit
(1) A voluntary environmental audit is an environmental audit commissioned or carried out or being carried out voluntarily, whether or not in relation to activities licensed under this Act.(2) An environmental audit is not voluntary if there is a contemporaneous requirement for a mandatory environmental audit in relation to the same or substantially the same activity.
(1) Documents prepared for the sole purpose of a voluntary environmental audit are protected documents for the purposes of this Act.(2) Such documents include the final report of the audit and any documents prepared during the course of the audit, so long as the documents are prepared for the sole purpose of the audit.(3) Without affecting the generality of the above, documents are not protected if they are prepared wholly or partly in connection with monitoring that is required by any conditions attached to a licence or by an environment protection notice.
(1) A protected document:(a) is not admissible in evidence against any person in any proceedings connected with the administration or enforcement of the environment protection legislation, and(b) may not be inspected, copied, seized or otherwise obtained by the EPA, any other regulatory authority, any authorised officer or any other person for any purpose connected with the administration or enforcement of the environment protection legislation,and the EPA or any such authority, officer or other person may not, for any such purpose, require a person to answer any question or provide any information about the existence of the document or about what it contains.(2) The onus of establishing that a document is a protected document lies on the person asserting that it is protected.(3) A court may inspect any document that is claimed to be a protected document for the purpose of determining whether it is or is not a protected document.(4) The regulations may prescribe procedures for making and determining claims that a document is a protected document.
(1) Documents prepared in relation to a voluntary environmental audit cease to be protected if the person asserting or relying on the protection uses or relies on (or attempts to use or rely on) the whole or any part of one or more of the documents, whether directly or indirectly, in any proceedings connected with the administration or enforcement of the environment protection legislation.(2) This section does not apply where the person is using or relying on (or attempting to use or rely on) a document for the purpose of establishing that the document is protected.