On 30 September 2015, the Environmental Protection
Act 1994 (Qld) (EP Act) was amended to make provision
for a new enforcement action, namely enforceable undertakings.
Broadly, an enforceable undertaking for the purposes of the EP
Act is a published binding agreement between the Queensland
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
(DEHP) and person/ company whereby the
person/company agrees to undertake specific actions in relation to
an alleged breach in return for the DEHP agreeing not to
prosecute.
An enforceable undertaking can be suggested by the DEHP or
voluntarily applied for by a person/company where there has been an
alleged breach or breaches of the EP Act, provided the breach or
breaches are not indictable offences. Indictable offences are those
offences which attract a maximum penalty of two years or more and,
generally under the EP Act, relate to wilful breaches of the EP
Act.
