Compliance and enforcement

    As Queensland’s environmental regulator we:

    • regulate industries and hold polluters to account to make sure they meet their environmental obligations and community expectations;
    • manage and monitor environmental performance through a range of assessment, compliance, investigation, enforcement and education activities;
    • enforce environmental and heritage protection laws to prevent pollution and safeguard our communities, lifestyle and unique environment.

    To help build a culture of improved voluntary compliance within industry and improve compliance practices, we publish guidance material and supporting information to help industry understand how to meet their environmental obligations and achieve good environmental practices.

    Our work is primarily governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1994, Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 and the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995.

    Compliance operations

    We undertake compliance programs and proactive inspections to monitor environmental performance. Where poor performance or non-compliance is detected, we will take an appropriate and proportional compliance action which can range from education to enforcement. People or operators who choose not to comply with their obligations should expect prompt and strong enforcement action. Where enforcement is required, we will use statutory notices to address environmental harm and will apply penalties to punish environmental crime. Compliance programs are conducted in four key streams: the Proactive Inspection Program, Responsive Compliance Program, Enduring Compliance Programs and Focussed Compliance Programs.

    Proactive Inspection Program

    We undertake proactive inspections to monitor the environmental performance of environmental authority holders. Our local compliance centre’s prioritise inspections to direct resources towards operators that pose the most risk. Inspections do not always identify non-compliance as many operators do the right thing by meeting their environmental obligations, however where non-compliance is detected, we will apply a proportionate and appropriate enforcement response.

    Responsive Compliance Program

    We respond to notifications of alleged or potential non-compliance and environmental incidents. Our team assesses all notifications and prioritises them to determine the most appropriate response. Notifications are received from different types of sources, including community members, other government agencies, industry bodies and operators.

    Response to these notifications is proportionate, with some managed administratively, while others are referred to local compliance centres for action. Notifications of major pollution events may also be escalated to our 24/7 incident response capability.

    Enduring Compliance Programs

    Our long-term compliance programs target significant risks to the environment and the community.

    Reef Compliance Program

    We are part of a united effort to protect and preserve the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR).

    Our work with producers helps improve water quality by reducing land-based water pollution flowing to the Great Barrier Reef – one of the major threats to this unique ecosystem.

    We are on the ground working with sugarcane, banana and beef cattle grazing producers, and those involved in new or expanded commercial horticulture and cropping activities, to identify the improvements needed and support the transition to better practices which comply with the Reef protection regulations.

    Our work ensures that practices are implemented and maintained to minimise sediment and nutrient loss from properties to waterways. This includes practices to monitor and maintain ground cover in the grazing industry, and practices to only apply fertilizer in accordance with good agronomic principles for the sugarcane and banana industries.

    We also support producers by providing information for them to connect to a network of experts, programs, information, funding and grants to help them implement practices which support farm sustainability, productivity and profitability, whilst also reducing impacts on GBR catchment water quality.

    Waste Compliance Program

    Poor waste management practices can result in environmental harm as well as have a significant impact on communities, particularly in the form of odour issues. Additionally, waste levy avoidance and fraudulent activities can incentivise waste crime and undermine the waste levy framework. As a result of these risks, we have dedicated resources that detect waste management and levy offences. Activities include inspections at licenced waste facilities, transaction audits and conducting volumetric surveys of waste stockpiles. Community reports to our Pollution Hotline also play an important role to identify issues and trends.

    Unlicenced Waste Program

    The unlicenced waste program targets operators who undertake waste management environmentally relevant activities without a current environmental authority. Inspections of these unregulated activities have revealed poor environmental practices and inadequate implementation of risk controls. This program includes dedicated resources to identify unlicenced operators and utilise appropriate enforcement tools to prevent further non-compliance and disincentivise others from adopting a similar practice.

    High Risk Weather Season Preparedness Program

    Queensland experiences significant weather events from October to April each year. Some environmental authorities such as large mines, quarries and waste facilities pose a risk to the environment and communities if operators do not take precautionary measures to prepare for significant weather events. We undertake compliance related communication, education, engagement and field inspections within the resource sector and other high-risk operators to ensure that appropriate precautionary measures are taken.

    Focussed compliance programs

    In addition to responding to notifications and its enduring programs, we also conduct Focussed Compliance Programs which are designed to address a specific issue or emerging risk associated with an activity or across a geographic area or industry sector. While it may take considerable time to deal with the issue, these programs are generally time bound and resourced accordingly. Not all of these programs are reported on this webpage.

    Current focussed compliance programs

    Swanbank Compliance Program

    We have a dedicated team delivering an intensive compliance program in response to the significant community reports about odour nuisance near industrial areas at Swanbank and New Chum. Further information about the Swanbank program is available on the department’s website.

    Compliance reporting

    We report on compliance through Annual Reports under the relevant legislation administered, tabled in the Queensland Parliament.  The department has previously published annual strategic compliance priorities, however the more dynamic approach outlined in the above programs has been adopted from the 2024/2025 financial year.

    Previous Annual Strategic Compliance Priorities can be viewed at:

    Compliance activity

    We undertake significant compliance activity each year. During the 2023/2024 financial year:

    1. We had almost 20,000 community reports through the Pollution Hotline.
    2. We conducted more than 1,900 site inspections.
    3. We undertook more than 250 enforcement actions, which included clean-up notices, direction notices, emergency directions, enforceable undertakings, environmental evaluations, environmental protection orders and transitional environmental orders.
    4. We issued more than 250 penalty infringement notices, not including litter and illegal dumping fines.
    5. We completed 14 successful prosecutions and had one unsuccessful prosecution.

    Enforcement action

    We have set clear expectations about acceptable standards of environmental performance and we will take prompt, strong enforcement action against operators who choose not to comply with their obligations.

    These expectations are set out in our administered legislation, related regulations and Enforcement guidelines.

    Enforcement guidelines

    We have published Enforcement guidelines to govern how we make decisions about appropriate enforcements. The guidelines ensure our enforcement responses:

    • reinforce legal obligations under the legislation
    • achieve outcomes consistent with legislation
    • deter non-compliant behaviour
    • apply proportionate enforcement action.

    Enforcement response

    Where non-compliance has been detected, we may apply one or more enforcement tools. These tools include:

    • Warning: An educative approach with no fine that describes the offence and is generally applied where there is low culpability or minor impacts.
    • Statutory notice: A notice that requires the operator to take specified actions to cease activities and remediate harm.
    • Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN): A monetary fine issued for a Penalty Infringement Notice offence, generally where the impacts are minor.
    • Prosecution: Criminal proceedings for the more severe offences which is heard in the Magistrates Court, or for indictable matters, under indictment in the District Court.
    • Court Order: Civil proceedings of a submission following a conviction, heard in the relevant court where the department seeks a court order requiring the operator to take particular action.

    For more information about compliance tools that are used by the department visit compliance guidelines.

    Powers of authorised officers

    Our officers are authorised persons under our administered legislation, including Environmental Protection Act 1994. Our officers exercise statutory powers to enable inspections, collect evidence and where appropriate, issue requirements to manage environmental risks.

    The Powers of authorised persons guideline—ESR/2016/2276 provides an overview of the roles, powers and activities of the department’s authorised officers under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
    The Overt and Covert recording fact sheet (ESR/2023/6387) provides an overview of when departmental officers will use recording devices.

    Stay informed, get involved

    We undertake a range of community and industry communication, engagement and education activities.

    Environmental Regulatory Update is a regular newsletter emailed to regulated operators and other interested subscribers such as environmental organisations and community members. The newsletter provides the latest information about important compliance and enforcement information.

    Subscribe to receive future editions of the Environmental Regulatory Update newsletter.

    Subscribe – we also issue the Swanbank and New Chum odour update newsletter to keep community members informed about our compliance and enforcement work in the Ipswich area. Visit our community webpage for more information and subscribe to the newsletter.

    Learn – you can also learn about our work through our department’s social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn and our other News and media channels, including media releases.

    Participate – you can stay informed and participate in consultation activities by visiting our Public notices and consultations webpage.

    Report pollution – our Pollution Hotline is a vital element of our compliance and enforcement activities. Community reports help identify localised issues and trends.

    Report littering and illegal dumping – see it, report it, stop it – if you see someone littering or illegally dumping waste, you can report it by using our Littering and illegal dumping form.