Compliance auditing
In July 2006, the Department implemented a Compliance Auditing Programme. All projects referred under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) are auditable under the programme.
The compliance audits help to ensure projects with the potential to impact on matters of national environmental significance are implemented as planned. The audits will also help the Australian Government to understand how well approval conditions are being understood and applied, and contribute to improving the effectiveness of the Department's operations.
The Compliance Auditing Programme has to date focused on auditing randomly selected projects that have been approved with conditions or given a 'not controlled action — particular manner' decision*. A more strategic approach is being developed to operate in conjunction with the existing random selection process for selecting audits.
The objectives of the Compliance Auditing Programme are to:
- Measure compliance with conditions attached to approval decisions, and requirements outlined in particular manner decisions
- Identify any non-compliances and ensure they are appropriately addressed through education, remediation or enforcement actions
- Evaluate the effectiveness of approval conditions in protecting matters of national environmental significance
- Improve internal departmental procedures, including condition setting
* Where an action does not require assessment and approval under the EPBC Act provided it is undertaken in a particular manner.
More:
- Compliance audits completed in 2007
- Burnett River Dam (Paradise Dam) final audit report
- Compliance audits completed in 2006
- Compliance auditing fact sheet
- Assessment and approval process
For more information about the Compliance Auditing Programme contact:
Director - Monitoring and Audit Section
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Approvals and Wildlife Division
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Email: audit@environment.gov.au
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