COVID-19, a once in a lifetime health pandemic, has
delayed the implementation of a once in a generation overhaul of
Victoria's environmental laws. In a special one-day sitting,
the Parliament of Victoria has tonight passed the COVID-19 Omnibus
(Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 (Bill), which will, amongst other
things, defer commencement of the Environment Protection Amendment
Act 2018 (Vic) (Amendment Act 2018) until 1 December 2021. However
this date is anticipated to be brought forward to 1 July 2021 if
the impacts of COVID-19 are short lived.
The Amendment Act 2018 is part of the Victorian
Government's complete overhaul and replacement of the
Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic) (EP Act
1970). The first step in this overhaul occurred in 2017
with the passage of the Environment Protection Act 2017
(Vic) (EP Act 2017), which implemented reforms to
the Environment Protection Authority's (EPA)
corporate governance structure. The Amendment Act 2018 was the
second and
