Notification policy

Policy for publishing notices about land regulated under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997

When the Office of Environment and Heritage* (OEH) has declared that land contamination is significant enough to warrant regulation or that land has ceased to be significantly contaminated land under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (CLM Act), the CLM Act requires that all identified interested parties are notified of the declaration. The declaration must be made by a notice that is published. OEH is required to publish the notice using the methods described below:

Publishing

Upon finalising a declaration made under section 11 of the CLM Act, OEH must notify identified interested parties and the public of the declaration using the following methods:

  • Publish a copy of the notice in the Government Gazette;
  • Serve a copy of the notice to the owner of the land, those persons who OEH has reason to believe are responsible for the contamination, the occupier of the land and the local authority; and
  • Publish a record of the declaration on the contaminated land - record of notices on the OEH website.

Upon revoking a declaration the OEH will serve a copy of the notice to the persons on whom the declaration was served and publish a record of the notice on the contaminated land - record of notices on the OEH website.

Additional communication actions

Depending on the circumstances of contamination, for example where the contamination has been considered to have a significant regional impact, the following additional actions may also be undertaken:

  • issue a media release,
  • issue a letter to relevant stakeholders or government organisations,
  • advise the local community of the contamination and its actual or potential impacts by a letter box drop,
  • advertise its intention to regulate in the relevant newspapers,
  • require the responsible person to develop and implement community communication strategies about the contamination and how it is being addressed,
  • other equivalent action as necessary.

* The Office of Environment and Heritage exercises certain statutory functions and powers (including those set out in the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 and the Protection and Environment Operations Act 1997) in the name of the Environmental Protection Authority.

Page last updated: 31 May 2011