Purpose:

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the establishment of a National Environment Protection Council.

Objectives:

• Ensure people enjoy the benefit of equivalent protection from air, water or soil pollution and from noise, wherever they live in Australia.
• Prevent distortion of business community decisions and fragmentation of markets due to variations between participating jurisdictions in relation to the adoption or implementation of major environment protection measures.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC).
• Functions of the Council include making national environment protection measures and assessing and reporting on their implementation and effectiveness in participating jurisdictions.
• Power for the Council to make national environment protection measures (NEPMs) relating to ambient air quality, ambient marine, estuarine and fresh water quality, protection of amenity in relation to noise, general guidelines for assessment of site contamination, environmental impacts associated with hazardous wastes, re-use and recycling of used materials, and motor vehicle noise and emissions.
• NEPMs must comprise one or more of a national environment protection standard, goal, guideline, or protocol.
• Requirements for the Council to publish notice of intention to prepare a draft measure and an impact statement.
• Provisions for public consultation on proposed measures, inviting submissions within a specified period (not less than 2 months for full measures).
• Council must have regard to environmental, economic, and social impacts, and consistency with Section 3 of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment when making measures.
• Procedures for the variation or revocation of national environment protection measures, including minor variations by unanimous resolution without significant change in effect.
• Ministerial reporting on the implementation and effectiveness of national environment protection measures in Victoria annually, due by 30 September.
• Council’s annual report on its operations, including reports from participating jurisdictions and its overall assessment of NEPM implementation and effectiveness.
• Establishment of the NEPC Service Corporation to provide assistance and support to the Council and its committees.
• Requirement for periodic review of the operation of the Act and corresponding legislation to assess achievement of objectives.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

This document, the National Environment Protection Council (Victoria) Act 1995, establishes the framework for the creation and governmental implementation of national environment protection measures (NEPMs). It outlines the functions and powers of the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) and the obligations of participating jurisdictions (governments) regarding these measures.

However, this Act does not detail specific compliance requirements (including documentation, actions, timeframes, measurement standards, reporting requirements, record-keeping, or inspection/audit requirements) that would be directly applicable to or required from agricultural organisations. These specific requirements for organisations would instead be derived from the subsequent laws and other arrangements that participating jurisdictions (State and Territory governments) implement to give effect to the national environment protection measures made by the NEPC.

The Act specifies the following reporting and implementation obligations for governments related to the NEPMs: - Implementation Obligation: Victoria is obligated to implement each national environment protection measure through necessary laws and other arrangements in respect of activities subject to Victorian law (Section 7). This implies that specific compliance requirements for agricultural organisations would flow from these implemented laws and arrangements, rather than directly from this Act. - Reporting by Victorian Minister: The Minister of Victoria who is a member of the Council must prepare an annual report on the implementation of national environment protection measures by Victoria and the effectiveness of those measures (Section 23(1)). - Reporting Time Frame (Minister): This report must be submitted to the Council by 30 September following each reporting year (which ends on 30 June) (Section 23(2)). - Council Annual Report: The Council must prepare an annual report of its operations, which includes copies of the reports received from Victoria and other jurisdictions on the implementation and effectiveness of NEPMs (Section 24(1), (2)). - Tabling of Council Report: The Minister must cause a copy of the Council’s annual report to be laid before each House of the Parliament of Victoria within 7 sitting days after its formal adoption by the Council (Section 24(3)). - Governmental Responsibility for Attainment/Maintenance: The Commonwealth and the States are responsible for the attainment and maintenance of agreed national standards or goals and compliance with national guidelines within their respective jurisdictions (Schedule 4, Clause 17). - Uniform Offence Hierarchy: The Commonwealth and the States agree to establish a uniform hierarchy of offences and related penalty structures for breaches of requirements applied under any agreed law for complying with standards, guidelines, or goals (Schedule 4, Clause 18).

Metadata Keywords:

Environmental protection, National Environment Protection Council, NEPC, Australian legislation, Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment, NEPMs, Pollution, Standards, Victoria.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 28 June 2012 Version number: 005

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Beef & Veal, Chicken, Coarse Grains, Cotton, Dairy, Eggs, Fisheries, Forestry, Horticulture, Oilseeds, Pig, Sheep Meat, Sugar, Wheat, Wine, Wool.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/e5051147-9e31-3e18-952b-aa152970d86c_95-10a005bookmarked.pdf →