EPA Vic's new Compliance and Enforcement Policy aims for a more consistent and transparent approach

Key Points:
New Compliance and Enforcement Policy puts EPA Victoria on track to becoming a 'modern environmental regulator'.

Introduction

In June 2011, EPA Victoria released a new Compliance and Enforcement Policy ("the new Policy"), which was developed in response to the Compliance and Enforcement Review by Stan Krpan undertaken in late 2010 ("the Review"). The Review was critical of the EPA's "fractured, reactive and inconsistent" approach to enforcing the law, and found that there was little public or industry confidence in its capacity to protect the environment. The EPA has committed to implementing all of the recommendations of the Review, and the new Policy represents a further step in the direction towards a 'tougher' EPA.