EPA Victoria to undergo a $45m transformation

The Victorian Government will boost the powers of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) with an immediate injection of over $45 million over two years, as part of its response to an independent inquiry into the EPA that was released last year.

The independent inquiry was the first comprehensive review of the EPA since it commenced operations in 1971. Completed over 10 months by an independent Ministerial Advisory Committee, the final report made 48 recommendations about how the EPA can be equipped to meet the environmental and human health challenges of today and the future. The government supports in full 40 of the 48 recommendations, with seven supported in principle and one supported in part.

The government has now committed $45.5 million in 2016–17 and 2017–18 to kickstart a five-year reform program that will provide Victorians with a bigger, better equipped and more effective EPA. This includes:

• $4.8 million to expand the environmental public health capability of the EPA.
• $6.5 million to better hold polluters to account.
• $4.8 million to pilot a program of local government environment protection officers to respond more effectively to local issues affecting livability and amenity.
• $2.1 million to appoint a chief environmental scientist (CES) and boost the EPA’s intelligence gathering on new and emerging risks.
• $2.4 million to develop a database of legacy contamination risks.
• $3.3 million for improved digital information management to support better regulation.
• $1.5 million to strengthen EPA’s strategic role in land use planning.

Legislative changes to modernise the EPA’s governance and overhaul the Environment Protection Act 1970 will be introduced in 2017 and 2018, intending to strengthen the EPA’s independence and scientific expertise and deliver consistent and efficient regulation for industry. In particular, there will be a shift of approach to preventing harm to the health of Victorians and the environment.

An interim advisory board has been appointed to support the EPA through the reform process and an expression of interest for the new CES has also been released. The advisory board will be led by current EPA Chairman Cheryl Batagol, with interim board members Dr John Stocker, Professor Rebekah Brown, Ross Pilling, Monique Conheady, Debra Russell, Robert Hogarth and Professor Arie Frieberg.

“These changes will ensure the EPA maintains its status as a world-leading environmental regulator,” said Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio.

“We’re building a stronger, more modern and better resourced EPA to protect Victoria’s environment now and into the future.”

For more information about the inquiry and the government response, visit http://delwp.vic.gov.au/environment-and-wildlife/epa-inquiry.