Maximum penalties under Australia’s environmental laws from 1 July 2023

Overview

Environmental law in Australia is predominantly criminal in nature. The key pollution, waste and contamination laws of each state and territory contain offence provisions for contraventions of the law. Those offence provisions are subject to penalties (fines), and in the case of individuals involved in an offence, penalties and in some jurisdictions, imprisonment.

Directors & Officers

All state and territory environmental laws carry derivative liability provisions. This means that directors and officers of corporations can be held legally liable for the offences of their corporations. This means that environmental regulators can bring prosecutions against an offending corporation and/or a director or officer.

The latest penalties

Each year, penalty provisions in most states and territories increase from 1 July 2023.

The table below summarises the maximum penalties from 1 July 2023 under the laws below.

The list is a quick reference summary. It is non-exhaustive (there are a great many other environmental laws (and planning laws) in each jurisdiction and those laws typically also carry penalty provisions. The examples below are selected from the main pollution laws, which typically have the highest penalties.

Of course, these are the maximum penalties available under statute, they are not representative of actual fines. It does go to show, however, the significant importance placed by regulators on the deterrent effect of high fines. Much like safety law, the high fines, combined with personal liability for directors and officers, are purposely set to ensure that environmental issues are given appropriate investment and that board and executive personnel give environmental issues proper attention.

The legal stuff

This article is aimed to be high-level, practical and thought-provoking. It is not a detailed description of environmental law in any particular Australian State or Territory. All States and Territories have different environmental laws. You should always seek independent legal or other professional advice on specific cases and before acting or relying on any of the content. All the information in this article and on this website and any downloads are intended only to provide a summary and general overview on matters of interest. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice or establish a lawyer - client relationship. Whilst attempts have been made to ensure that the content is current, Gabrielle Guthrie and Guthrie Legal do not guarantee its currency. Copyright 2023