Environmental Advice:
Compliance, Governance, Risk & Defence of Enforcement
External visibility and scrutiny over environmental risks and liabilities are increasing. It’s all about risk. Personal risk, legal risk, reputational risk, financial risk.
Astute GMs, environment managers, legal counsel and directors are often at the forefront of environmental issues. Acutely aware of the financial, reputational and social risk consequences of action or inaction, you may intuitively know there is a problem but need help defining it or you may have the solution but need support to influence or execute the implementation. There may be a need to transform how the organisation approaches environmental risk and compliance. Maybe you have a new role or a new remit. Perhaps you have sleepless nights worrying about a material environmental risk or have uncovered a complex long-term non-compliance, or concerning contamination risk. Given the breadth and complexity of the risk landscape, it’s understandable that managing an environmental risk issue can feel overwhelming, time-consuming and exhausting.
If you want to minimise corporate liability, including for directors and officers, save money, avoid wasted costs, minimise reputational and litigation risk, then seeking legal advice on your environmental challenges is essential.
G A B R I E L L E G U T H R I E
Legal Services
Gabrielle is passionate about helping clients navigate the complex issues that impact them, particularly in environmental risk management, compliance and governance, climate regulation and environmental licensing. Guthrie Legal provides legal advice across all areas of environmental compliance, governance and risk.
Legal advice on creation and development of environmental compliance and governance frameworks, including environmental management systems (EMS)
Legal risk gap analysis, including identification of applicable laws and policies, review of existing policies and procedures; advice on strategic actions to improve environmental risk management and enhance compliance and governance
Environmental licensing and permitting - advice on environmental licences, permits, registrations, ERAs and key approvals of pollution control legislation, including application and approval processes, amendment of approvals, and advice on compliance with approvals
Structuring environmental investigations to protect your organisation
Pollution incident management, including development of and training in relation to incident response protocols, assistance with mandatory pollution incident reporting and legal response to incidents and alleged non-compliance.
Regulatory reporting (including Annual Return, NPI and NGERs reporting) and sustainability reporting and disclosures
Bespoke briefings and tailored training for boards, executive teams and employees on environmental law obligations, including preparing briefing papers for board reporting on emerging and upcoming legislative change and implications of recent cases
Corporate defence of environmental regulatory enforcement by EPAs / DES (QLD) and local councils, including advising on response to notices, requests for interviews, show cause notices, regulator-led investigations and internal investigations, negotiating with the regulator as to remedies and sanctions.
Advice on a wide range of environmental issues and legal regimes including: Federal National Pollution Inventory; National Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reporting; Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act; Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act; Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act; State laws on pollution, contamination, nuisance, biodiversity conservation, water regulation, coastal and marine areas, public health; land use planning; circular economy and waste.
We support clients to transform their approach to environmental legal risk. We help to define the complex issues at play and offer legal insight into strategic options available. We bring experts to the table and map out a strategy for resolving an issue based on a clear understanding of legal requirements and liabilities.
Recent Experience
Advising multiple national corporations on development and implementation of environmental management systems for manufacturing, chemicals and extractive industries sites in all Australian jurisdictions.
Advised national clients on pollution incident response protocols, mandatory reporting and subsequent incident investigation.
Successfully defended regulatory enforcement action relating to licence non-compliance and other legal breaches in VIC, NSW, QLD.
Undertaking legal investigations and gap analysis of management and governance systems to advise on environmental liability associated with compliance, governance and management practice and recommended risk minimisation actions.
Successfully defended corporations faced with enforcement action by EPA Victoria, NSW EPA and DES including in relation to show cause notices, requests to attend interview, requests to produce documents, remedial notices, compliance with PRPs, TEPs and other notices.
Advice on a wide range of contamination and pollution matters including: mine decommissioning at a VIC site; investigation and regulatory notification in relation to groundwater contamination issues at a SA site; UST/UPSS removal and decommissioning in NT, NSW, QLD, ACT, VIC; PFAS contamination in WA; dangerous goods and hazardous substances; contaminated fill and asbestos.
