What is the name of the governing agency responsible for the environment?

Local government (councils) play an important role under the Environment Protection Act 2017 (the Act). They're our partners, joint-regulators and duty holders in the environment protection framework.

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Duty holders
Joint regulators
Memorandum of understanding between EPA and the Municipal Association of Victoria
The Officers for the Protection of the Local Environment program
Functions of the EPA
Functions of the EPA

Councils regulate several key environmental and human health issues using their powers under the Act. They also act as land managers and provide key services to the community, such as waste collection and landfill management.

View a recent webinar for local government outlining important changes to environment protection laws and how EPA is supporting you to be ready to regulate. Questions and answers from the webinar have also been published on this page.

Duty holders

EPA regulates council activities that may have environmental or human health impacts, including:

landfills
waste facilities such as transfer stations
land management including local roads and public spaces
construction.

The local government sector guide (publication 1821) is for councils in their role of duty holder. It can help identify which activities could cause harm from pollution and waste. The guide also includes information about managing risks (including examples), legal obligations and common hazards in councils.

Joint regulators

Councils play an essential role in protecting the environment and human health. They do this by helping to regulate:

litter and waste
onsite wastewater management systems
residential noise.

Find out how functions and powers are delegated to councils.

Memorandum of understanding between EPA and the Municipal Association of Victoria

EPA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) on behalf of local government. An MoU is a type of arrangement. EPA and MAV signed the MOU on 22 June 2021. The term of the MoU is 36 months until 21 June 2024.

This MoU outlines our approach to working with local councils. MAV represents Victoria’s 79 local councils. The MoU reflects EPA’s commitment to support our partnerships with local councils as joint regulators.

EPA and MAV commit to meet objectives in the MoU. These are based on agreed principles about the roles and responsibilities of EPA and local government as joint regulators. The areas where we share responsibility are:

litter
illegal dumping
noise
on-site wastewater management systems with a capacity of up to 5000 litres on any day.

The reason we have an MoU is to:

acknowledge the important working relationship between EPA and local councils
provide a framework to guide and support local councils as joint regulators.

The key focus areas in the MoU are:

support for local government to implement areas of shared responsibility
engagement and consultation
the regulatory framework that applies to EPA and local government.

The MoU does not:

stop EPA and MAV from working on any other issues the MoU doesn’t cover
stop EPA from direct engagement with any local council on any other issues the MoU doesn’t cover.

Over the life of the MoU, EPA and MAV will consult with councils about the key focus areas. Together, we’ll develop them further and set out new schedules to the MoU. We encourage councils to work with MAV to address their interests through the MoU.

The Officers for the Protection of the Local Environment program

Officers for the Protection of the Local Environment (OPLE) are EPA authorised officers, based in councils. They help council officers with compliance and enforcement action for minor local pollution incidents.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) was established in 1971.

The Authority comprises five members appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister for Environment.

The EPA is independent, in that it is not subject to direction by the Minister, and its advice to Government is public. EPA members are not public servants.

Its operations are governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1986 which stipulates that the objective of the EPA is to: 'use its best endeavours – a) to protect the environment; and b) to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm.'

The Act defines the environment as 'living things, their physical, biological and social surroundings, and interactions between all of these'.

Functions of the EPA

The functions of the EPA are broad and include:

conducting environmental impact assessments
preparing statutory policies for environmental protection
preparing and publishing guidelines for managing environmental impacts, and
providing strategic advice to the Minister for Environment.

More detail about the EPA, it’s mission and commitment can be found in it’s Strategic Plan.

The EPA meets to consider proposals and deal with other business each month. EPA members also travel within Western Australia to examine proposals in the field and to meet with proponents on-site. These site visits have been welcomed by proponents as an opportunity to meet with the EPA to discuss issues in a less formal setting.

Staff from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation accompany the EPA. Whenever possible, EPA members take the opportunity to meet with key local stakeholders including local government, interest groups and conservation groups.

Site visits are valuable in a number of ways:

They give EPA members a clearer understanding of the environmental context of a proposal.
They provide an opportunity for the EPA to meet proponents and key stakeholders, exchange views, address environmental issues associated with their proposal, and network in an informal atmosphere.
They make it easier to communicate and interact with proponents and other stakeholders through subsequent telephone interaction and formal EPA meetings.
They result in a more informed EPA leading to better environmental advice being provided to the Minister for Environment.
They enhance the identity of the EPA as an Authority that provides independent advice.

The EPA also usually meets with it’s Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) each quarter. The SRG provide input to the EPA on matters of policy, process and performance.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) was originally established in 1971. The Authority comprises five members appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister for Environment. The EPA is independent, in that it is not subject to direction by the Minister, and its advice to Government is public.

EPA members are not public servants. The Authority's operations are governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1986 which stipulates that the objective of the EPA is to: 'use its best endeavours – a) to protect the environment; and b) to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm.' The Act defines the environment as 'living things, their physical, biological and social surroundings, and interactions between all of these'.

From 1 July 2017, the new Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) will support the EPA in conducting environmental impact assessments and developing policies to protect the environment. The DWER also monitors compliance with the conditions of Ministerial Statements.

Functions of the EPA

The functions of the EPA are broad and include:

conducting environmental impact assessments
preparing statutory policies for environmental protection
preparing and publishing guidelines for managing environmental impacts, and
providing strategic advice to the Minister for Environment.

The EPA meets to consider proposals and deal with other business each month. EPA members also travel within Western Australia to examine proposals in the field and to meet with proponents on-site. Whenever possible, the EPA members take the opportunity to meet with key local stakeholders including local government, interest and conservation groups.