Implementation progress
This section provides progress updates on the implementation of the government commitments made in response to the inquiry recommendations.
Recommendation 5 That the Victorian Government review appropriate sanctions for entities that do not keep records demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements. Government commitment: In the context of Fiskville and environmental compliance more broadly, the Government Response to the Independent Inquiry into the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) (released on 17 January 2017) supported a number of recommendations made by the EPA Inquiry to improve the regulator’s ability to hold polluters to account, including a commitment to expand the range, and increase the severity of, sanctions. Currently, EPA approvals and licences contain conditions requiring the recipient to maintain records. Failure to comply is a breach of the licence or approval and may result in a sanction under the Environment Protection Act 1970 (EP Act). Similarly, some regulations also have requirements to maintain records and have specific sanctions associated with a failure to comply with them. Penalties for record keeping offences are being considered as part of the review of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007. Lead agency
DELWP
Status
Complete
The inquiry made a range of findings relating to weaknesses in recordkeeping and the impact on the safety of operations, governance and effective regulatory oversight. The inquiry found that poor recordkeeping by CFA meant that regulatory agencies had not been able to hold it to account for contamination at Fiskville. The inquiry report outlined CFA’s poor documentation and dissemination of incidents and complaints, which led to a loss of corporate knowledge and the unnecessary exposure of people to toxic substances. The inquiry report also noted that the lack of records on the fuels donated for use in training made it difficult for health professionals to determine the impacts of contamination on people. The inquiry recommended that the government review appropriate sanctions for entities that do not keep records demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements. The government supported Recommendation 5 in principle. Its response recognised the importance of government entities maintaining adequate records and complying with regulatory requirements.
