Appendix 7—Legislation administered by the department

Table 1: Legislation administered by the department with offence or penalty provisions, activities subject to regulation by the department, and the relevant international conventions and treaties under which the Australian Government has compliance and enforcement obligations.

Legislation	Typical commodities/activities	International obligation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984	The preservation and protection from injury or desecration of areas and objects in Australia and in Australian waters, being areas and objects that are of particular significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in accordance with their tradition.	None.
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Act 1980 Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980 Australian Antarctic Territory Act 1954 Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953	Activities in Australia’s Antarctic Territories.	Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol). Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999	Activities in Commonwealth National Parks, Commonwealth Marine Reserves or affecting the environment on Commonwealth land or in Commonwealth waters.	The Convention on Biological Diversity. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1979) (Bonn Convention).
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999	Actions having a significant impact on listed protected species, ecological communities, marine species, migratory species, wetlands of international significance, World Heritage Areas, National or Commonwealth Heritage. Nuclear actions.	The Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (1974) (JAMBA). The China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (1986) (CAMBA). Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat Ramsar (Ramsar Convention). Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the World Heritage Convention). International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981	Disposal at sea.	1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 (London Protocol).
Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000	Motor fuel contamination.	None.
Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989	The export or import of hazardous waste, including electronic waste.	Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention). Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region (Waigani Convention).
Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976	Activities affecting historic shipwrecks including relics previously obtained from wrecks.	Agreement between the Netherlands and Australia concerning old Dutch shipwrecks.
Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989	The importation, handling and disposal of ozone-depleting gases and equipment/appliances containing them.	Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Product Stewardship Act 2011 NB: Enacted in June 2011 and received Royal Assent in July 2011.	Encouraging reuse, recycling, recovery, treatment or disposal of products in that class, or waste from such products, in a safe, scientific and environmentally sound way; and requiring purchasers to make product return payments in relation to products in that class.	None.
Sea Installations Act 1987	Structures in Commonwealth waters.	None.
Water Act 2007	Management of the water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin, and other matters of national interest on water and water information.	None.
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005	The sale and installation of water-using appliances and plumbing fittings.	None.

Table 2: Significant regulatory compliance and enforcement outcomes of 2010–11

Outcome	Legislation	Activity
Remediation Determination that requires a New South Wales landholder to manage a cleared area and facilitate natural regeneration of an ecological community. Management actions include excluding domestic stock from the area, controlling weeds and feral animals at the site, and conducting ongoing monitoring and reporting.	EPBC Act 1999, s. 18	Approximately 30 ha of the endangered ecological community Weeping Myall Woodland was cleared and disturbed on a private property. The clearing was halted before the ecological community was damaged beyond repair.
Enforceable Undertaking that requires a Queensland business to improve its business practices, implement a records management system, deliver a compliance training program to staff, undertake a range of product auditing and related reporting measures, and be subject to regular auditing, including costs.	Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005, ss. 33–34	Supply of products not registered or labelled as required under the Water Efficiency and Labelling Scheme.
Enforceable Undertaking that requires a Victorian city council to pay more than $131 000 to rehabilitate the site, support research into the threatened ecological community, and review internal processes.	EPBC Act 1999, s. 18(5)	City council in Victoria approved the construction of a pipeline which resulted in the removal and disturbance of approximately 0.8 ha of Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Volcanic Plain. The grasslands are a critically endangered ecological community.
Remediation Determination that requires a Victorian company to provide a suitable offset property and fund relevant research. Total value is about $180 000.	EPBC Act 1999, Part 3	Works by company resulted in illegal clearing of critically endangered Spiny rice-flower and damage to critically endangered Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain.
Oil and gas company pleaded guilty to commencing action before approval and was convicted and fined $102 750.	EPBC Act 1999, s. 74AA	The company referred an oil drilling project for approval under the EPBC Act. While awaiting approval the company began drilling in the proposed area off Western Australia.
Injunction sought and granted against a landholder near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, to restrain him from further clearing of an ecological community protected under the EPBC Act.	EPBC 1999, ss. 18(6) and 475	Earthworks were likely to have a significant impact on the Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of South-eastern Australia, an ecological community listed as threatened under the EPBC Act.
Infringement Notices totalling $19 800 were served on a Queensland gas company for breaching conditions attached to an approval.	EPBC 1999, s. 142B	Plant and machinery cleared up to 6 km of vegetation contrary to conditions of the approval that required management plans to be finalised and approved before commencement.
Individual convicted of Dishonest Retention of Commonwealth Property and fined $3 000.	Commonwealth Criminal Code, s. 132.8(2) ‘dishonest taking or retention of property’ in relation to items protected by the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976	An individual had in his possession 1 440 shipwreck relics from the ‘Zuytdorp’ shipwreck. The Dutch East India Company’s ship ‘Zuytdorp’ is a wreck protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act.
Injunction to prevent petrol station supplying diesel fuel with a flash point of less than 61.5° C.	Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000, ss. 12 and 12AA	The company had engaged in or was about to engage in conduct that would be an offence under s. 12 of the Fuel Quality Standards Act (supply of off-specification diesel fuel).
Across six separate cases, an imprisonment sentence of two years, good-behaviour bonds totalling 22 months and fines, court costs and other penalties totalling $7 620.50.	Part 13A of the EPBC Act 1999, s. 303	Six prosecutions involving illegal movement of wildlife (and wildlife products) in to and out of Australia including cases undertaken consistent with Australia’s obligations as a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Further information about enforcement activities is provided in the Outcome chapters.

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