The Aim of the Act is to ensure that people are equally protected from air, water, soil, and noise pollution through the establishment of a National Environment Protection Council (NEPC). The object of this Act is to ensure that, by means of the establishment and operation of the National Environment Protection Council— (a) people enjoy the benefit of equivalent protection from air, water or soil pollution and from noise, wherever they live in Australia; and (b) decisions of the business community are not distorted, and markets are not fragmented, by variations between participating jurisdictions in relation to the adoption or implementation of major environment protection measures.
The Act is the primary environmental protection and pollution control legislation in Tasmania. It is a performance-based style of legislation, with the fundamental basis being the prevention, reduction and remediation of environmental harm. The focus of the Act is on preventing environmental harm from pollution and waste.