The Law Handbook 2024

1042 Section 11: Rights, activism and fair treatment at work jointly with an EES, any submission by a member of the public must be made with submissions on the EES (s 52(20(e)). Where a development licence is issued substantially in accordance with the EES, the development licence is not subject to third-party appeals to VCAT (s 431(3)). In October 2018, Ministerial Direction 19 ( MD19 ) came into effect under section 12(1)(f) of the PE Act. If land is to be rezoned to certain sensitive uses (e.g. from industrial to residential use or to accommodate a school) or if an Environment Audit Overlay is in place for the land, the duty holder must meet additional requirements to address potential contamination. MD19 requires planning authorities to seek early advice from the EPA when undertaking strategic planning processes and preparing planning scheme amendments that may significantly impact the environment (including amenity) and/or human health. The explanatory report for an amendment must include a statement of how the proposed amendment addresses EPA’s views. A copy of MD19 can be found at www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0029/395066/Direction-19-and-information- requirement-amendments-that-may-result-in-impacts- on-the-environment,-amenity-and-human-health.pdf. In March 2021, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) (now DEECA) published Planning Practice Note 92 that addresses development of land that is used for industrial purposes and other land uses have the potential to produce offsite impacts, such as noise, dust, odour and hazardous air pollutants. Under the VPPs, a person may seek to have a ‘buffer area overlay’ adopted for their area as a means of limiting development of land for sensitive uses within the impact footprint of their site to help minimises harm from matters they cannot otherwise fully manage on their site (e.g. noise, odour). The aim of this overlay is to prevent encroachment of sensitive uses into areas needed to support viable industrial activity and critical infrastructure, such as waste management activities. Under Ministerial Direction 1 ( MD1 ), the responsible authority must decide whether the land is ‘potentially contaminated land’, within the meaning of the VPPs. To help make this determination, the responsible authority may require a preliminary risk screen assessment ( PRSA ) or an environmental audit by an environmental auditor be conducted under Part 8.3 of the EP Act before authorising the zone change or issuing a permit. If the PRSA indicates it is likely to be contaminated land, an environmental audit must be conducted. The responsible authority may approve a zone change that is conditional on the audit being completed, or require the audit be completed before authorising the zone change. The EPA must be notified of both PRSAs and environmental audits and may review and seek changes to the scope of any proposed audit. The EPA retains direct powers to seek remediation of contaminated land, whether or not a responsible authority is involved. For more information refer to Planning Practice Note 30 (see www.planning.vic. gov.au/guides-and-resources/guides/all-guides/ contaminated-land-and-planning) . A person selling land that may be contaminated is now under an obligation to provide relevant information on the contamination that they are aware of and must notify the purchaser if an environmental audit statement has been issued under the EP Act, or the old EP Act. DEECA has established a map-based tool that lists all information on public registers held by government regarding contaminated land. The register can be accessed for free at www.environment. vic.gov.au/sustainability/victoria-unearthed. Land can be searched by street address and information about past land use and investigations related to the site can be examined. This register is not considered exhaustive of all contamination information. Before purchasing or occupying land suspected to be contaminated it is recommended you seek information on its contamination status from the persons or persons currently in management of control of that land. A proposal likely to have significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance must be assessed under the Commonwealth environmental impact assessment system established by the EPBC Act, which is currently under review. Information The EPA provides a significant amount of information on its website, including information required to be made available on the public register. Other information relating to decision-making by the EPA (e.g. the issue of remedial notices and licences) maybe sought under the Freedomof InformationAct 1982 (Vic). However, commercially sensitive information is subject to certain protections under the EP Act (s 453) and may only be disclosed with the consent of the person to whom the information applies. For details of freedom of information exemptions, see Chapter 12.3: Freedom of information law.