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ARTICLE · 07 SEPTEMBER 2022

R v Rumble – implications for executive officer liability for environmental harm offences

Cooper Grace Ward
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Recent decision has implications for executive officer liability in environmental harm offences.

AustraliaEnvironment
Leanne O’Neill
Leanne O’Neill
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In this case, former Linc Energy executives were charged with offences against Queensland's Environmental Protection Act 1994 after a Linc Energy underground coal gasification project near Chinchilla caused serious environmental harm. The Court of Appeal decision in R v Rumble has implications for executive officer liability in environmental harm offences under Australian environmental legislation.

Brief overview of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld)

Under section 493 of the Act, if a corporation commits an offence, each of the executive officers of the corporation also commits an offence of failing to ensure the corporation's compliance with the Act.

'Executive officer' is defined in Schedule 4 of the Act to mean a person who is either:

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