Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Annual Report 2011–12

Clean Energy Future Plan

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 and related legislation was amended so that synthetic greenhouse gases manufactured in, or imported into, Australia attract a levy based on their equivalent carbon price. The Act was also expanded to include a third synthetic greenhouse gas, sulfur hexafluoride, and to cover equipment containing the hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride synthetic greenhouse gases.

The price per tonne of synthetic greenhouse gas is based on the carbon price and global warming potential for each gas, relative to carbon dioxide. The equivalent carbon price will create an incentive to reduce emissions by placing a price tag on every tonne of synthetic greenhouse gases.

The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 and related legislation places controls on the manufacture, import and export of all ozone-depleting substances, and the synthetic greenhouse gases used to replace them, in Australia.

Synthetic greenhouse gases often replace ozone-depleting substances that have been or are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol). These synthetic greenhouse gases are in turn controlled under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the Kyoto Protocol) and, while these gases do not deplete the ozone layer, they have high global-warming potential.

The department continues to work with Australian industry and international governments to promote the responsible use of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases to minimise their effect on the atmosphere. This work includes meeting Australia’s obligation to phase out the ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol, and reduce the emissions of synthetic greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol.

COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

The department supports the minister in his role as chair of the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water.

The COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water was established following the 2010 review of the COAG ministerial council system. It incorporates the National Environment Protection Council, which is responsible for making National Environment Protection Measures. These measures provide for national coordinated action on air quality (including air toxics), diesel vehicle emissions, national pollutant inventory, the movement of controlled waste, assessment of contaminated sites, and used packaging materials.

The department contributed to the development of the National Plan for Clean Air, being progressed by the Standing Council on Environment and Water, to introduce a strategic national approach for air quality that integrates air quality standard setting and actions to reduce pollution. The plan will also bring together a strategy for responding to the review of the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure.

Chemicals reform agenda

In conjunction with states and territories, the department is implementing three reforms arising out of the COAG response to the Productivity Commission’s 2008 research report on chemicals and plastics regulation, which examined Australia’s system of regulating chemicals and plastics.

The reforms are intended to address a significant gap in environmental protection and include the creation of a standards-setting body to develop national environmental risk management decisions for industrial chemicals; an assessment of the costs and benefits of introducing environmental labelling of industrial chemicals; and examination of the feasibility of developing a performance measurement framework for monitoring the impact of chemicals in the environment.

Engagement on international agreements

The department leads Australia’s participation in a number of international agreements that seek to minimise impacts from hazardous chemicals, hazardous wastes and ozone-depleting substances. Some of the major agreements are listed in Table 1.

Australia has been an active and constructive participant in multilateral meetings held during 2011–12 to progress action on these international agreements. Negotiations also continued for the development of a legally binding agreement to reduce the adverse impacts of mercury; it is expected that these negotiations will be concluded in early 2013.

Australia is exceeding its phase-out obligations under the Montreal Protocol for ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) through the operation of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989. In the period to 2020, Australia will consume 60 percent less HCFCs than permitted under the Montreal Protocol and will achieve a 99.5percent reduction in 2016, effectively phasing out the import of HCFCs four years ahead of the Montreal Protocol’s 2020 phase-out obligation.

Amendments to the Rotterdam Convention, agreed in June 2011, to list three new chemicals in Annex III (aldicarb, alachlor and endosulfan) must go through Australia’s treaty-making process. This has been progressed, with the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties agreeing on 19 March 2012 that binding treaty action may be taken. The amendments to relevant regulations oversighted by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service have been drafted and domestic implementation of the treaty action is expected to be completed in late 2012.

In April 2011, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants agreed to list the pesticide endosulfan in Annex A for elimination. The department has progressed preparation of a Regulation Impact Statement and National Interest Analysis as part of the treaty-making process.

Table 1: Major international agreements

Agreement	Purpose
Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal	Management of hazardous waste
Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade	Management of hazardous chemicals
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants	Management of hazardous chemicals
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management	Management of hazardous chemicals and wastes
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer	Protection of the ozone layer

National legislation and policy development

Product stewardship

The Product Stewardship Act 2011, which came into effect on 8 August 2011, represents a groundbreaking approach to the regulation of product stewardship in Australia. Product stewardship is an approach to reducing the environmental and other impacts of products by encouraging or requiring manufacturers, importers, distributors and other persons to take responsibility for those products during and at end-of-life. The Act delivers on a key commitment by the Australian Government under Strategy 1 of the National Waste Policy to establish a national framework, underpinned by Commonwealth legislation, to support voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory product stewardship schemes, specifically the following:

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  Voluntary product stewardship involves organisations voluntarily seeking accreditation by the Australian Government for product stewardship activities that meet specified quality requirements.
  
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  Co-regulatory product stewardship involves a combination of industry action and supporting government regulation, whereby government sets the outcomes and requirements to be met while industry has flexibility in how the outcomes and requirements are achieved.
  
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  Mandatory product stewardship is where the outcomes and the requirements for meeting those outcomes are both regulated.
  

The first priority for implementation of the Act was to regulate end-of-life televisions and computers under the co-regulatory provisions. The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 commenced on 8 November 2011 to support a National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, funded and run by industry. Further information on the scheme is provided as Case Study 1.

On 28 February 2012 the department released a consultation paper on the Proposed Model for Accreditation of Voluntary Product Stewardship Arrangements under the voluntary provisions of the Act for public comment and feedback. Public meetings were held in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne to facilitate face-to-face discussions between stakeholders and departmental officials on the proposed model. A total of 20 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders, and 42 interested parties attended the public meetings. Feedback from the consultation process will inform the development of a Ministerial Determination setting out the detailed accreditation requirements and procedures.

Hazardous waste

The department administers the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste through the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989. The process under this Act for granting permits ensures the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes is dealt with in an environmentally sound manner, both within and outside Australia.

The department is undertaking a review of the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 and Regulations to ensure that Australia effectively and efficiently meets its international obligations and national policy objectives for managing hazardous substances, hazardous wastes and other wastes.

National Pollutant Inventory

The National Pollutant Inventory was established under the National Environment Protection (National Pollutant Inventory) Measure 1998 to provide a database to inform the community, industry and government of the sources, types and amounts of pollutants emitted to air, water and land in Australia. The department hosts the inventory and works with states and territories to publish emissions data annually from industrial facilities, such as mines, power stations and factories, and from other sources such as households and transport-related sources.

The National Pollutant Inventory now contains 13 years of data and has over 4200 industry facilities reporting data from throughout Australia. The inventory has emission estimates for 93 toxic substances that have been identified as important due to their possible effect on human health and the environment, and the source and location of these emissions.

Chemical assessments

The department prepares scientific assessments and management advice for the Australian Government regulators, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority, on the environmental impacts of new and existing chemicals and veterinary medicines. Major work undertaken during the year included:

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  the preparation of a supplemental report for the review of pesticide diuron based on public submissions
  
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  consultation with jurisdictions regarding the outcomes of the targeted sampling program to measure the amounts of triclosan in waste streams
  
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  the development of a landfill emissions model to better understand the fate of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances in landfills.
  

Biotechnology and nanotechnology

The department assesses the environmental safety of biological products and genetically modified organisms, and advises the minister. Based on this advice the minister then advises the Gene Technology Regulator under the Gene Technology Act 2000, administered by the Department of Health and Ageing.

Fuel quality

The department administers the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 for national fuel quality standards and fuel quality information standards for Australia. Fuel quality standards exist for petrol, automotive diesel, biodiesel and liquefied petroleum gas (autogas), and a fuel quality information standard exists for petrol that contains ethanol.

Photo of a man recording samples for fuel quality testing. (Michelle Mc Aulay)

Used oil

The department manages the Product Stewardship for Oil program for the environmentally sustainable management and re-refining of used oil and its re-use, under the Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000.

The Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000 establishes a levy-benefit system, which is currently 5.449 cents per litre of new oil (or kilogram for greases). This levy on new oil is used to fund benefit payments to used-oil recyclers. These arrangements provide incentives to increase used-oil recycling in Australia.

Suburban Jobs

The government’s sustainable population strategy, Sustainable Australia: Sustainable communities, notes that supporting a sustainable population for Australia requires the collaborative efforts of government, industry and the community.

The Suburban Jobs Program involves the practical demonstration of place-centred policies to enhance community sustainability. The program takes an innovative approach to the pressures faced by communities as a result of rapid growth by addressing economic development, planning and infrastructure, education and training, ‘livability’ and amenity concerns. The program was designed to support the strategic planning undertaken by local and state governments in relation to the growing suburbs of Australia’s major capital cities.

Draft program guidelines were released for public comment in October 2011. Feedback on the draft guidelines informed the final program guidelines, which were released in December 2011. Thirty-one applications for funding were received.

Directory: system -> files -> resources
resources -> Environmental Best Practice Port Development: An Analysis of International Approaches
resources -> The National Heritage List and Commonwealth Heritage List: 1 july 2008 30 june 2013
resources -> Reference list for waterrelated coal seam gas and coal mining research
resources -> Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators isd sections of Law
resources -> Executive Summary 3 Background 4 Developing the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme 4
resources -> Threat abatement plan for disease in natural ecosystems caused by
resources -> Sawfish and River Sharks Multispecies Issues Paper
resources -> Wildlife Trade Management Plan – Queensland Crocodile Farming

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