Under recent Guidelines introduced by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECC), a landowner is required to take ‘notice’ of changes in their land and have assessments conducted if they suspect any contamination.  If these assessments indicate contaminates are present in the soil or in the groundwater in levels which are above the regulations than the landowner has a duty to report the findings to the DECC.

The duty to report will arise if an owner should reasonably be aware of contamination on their site. Potential indicators are:

1.       Illnesses in people who have exposure to the site;

2.       The presence of chemicals (eg odours or discolouration of water);

3.       Visible signs of toxic responses to contaminants in flora and fauna (eg unusual numbers of birds dying near the site);

4.       The presence of liquid or solid chemical waste on the site;

5.       The presence of discarded explosive materials on the site; and

6.       Evidence of migration of contaminants into adjacent or nearby environments.

If suspicion arises as a result of the above, or any other, indicators, then a landowner must undertake further investigation. If contamination is found to be above the legal levels, the landowner is required to submit a detailed report in the specified DECC form.

If contamination is present and the report is not to DECC made as required, the landowner may be subject to prosecution. If convicted, the penalties can be in excess of $165,000 for corporations and $77,000 for individuals.

If you are concerned about your duty to disclose under the new guidelines or need assistance in reporting to the DECC, please contact Rebecca Flynn, on  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 9525 8688.