Topics: Planning and environment

There are serious consequences for failure to comply with the obligations set out in the Clean Energy Act 2011 (CE Act) and the National Greenhouse Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act). The CE Act sets out a wide range of obligations in relation to carbon and also establishes the Clean Energy Regulator (Regulator), which has a broad set of powers.

The Queensland Government on 1 March 2013 approved significant changes to the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008 (Regulation). The most important feature is the deletion of 20 environmentally relevant activity (ERA) thresholds. What this means is that small to medium sized business operations, such as motor vehicle workshops, will no longer need to apply for an environmental approval from the state government to operate.

The Sustainable Planning and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Qld) (SPOLA Bill) was passed by parliament on 13 November 2012, after recommendations for change made by the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee (Committee) were adopted.

As a result of the recent amendments to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA), transitional issues have arisen that may render your development application as ‘not properly made’.

The Product Stewardship Act 2011 (Act) was introduced into Federal Parliament as a Bill on 23 March 2011 and assented to on 25 July 2011. Although it is expected that the Act will take effect in August 2011, the real impact will be felt by business when the regulations under the Act come into effect. Currently there are no Regulations and no plan for any industry yet exists.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has raised its profile once more. As land becomes increasingly scarce, TODs are becoming acceptable development outcomes to address population growth. Since 2008, four TODs have been approved in Brisbane.

The Climate Change and Sustainability Minister, Kate Jones, introduced new environmental legislation into parliament on 24 November 2010. The Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 (Bill) has not yet been passed by parliament. However, corporations and businesses that are conducting environmentally relevant activities under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and Environmental Protection Regulation 2008 need to be aware of these proposed amendments.