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Prosecutions

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The EPA conducts prosecutions before the Courts under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Pollution of Waters by Oil and Noxious Substances Act 1986.

Prosecutions seek to provide an appropriate sanction to the offender and act as a deterrent. EPA will consider prosecuting an individual or company where other enforcement measures are inadequate, or unlikely, to ensure ongoing compliance.

The decision on whether to prosecute for a breach of environmental laws is significant, as the effect on those involved (the defendant/accused, the community) will be considerable.

Environmental offences are generally indictable or serious criminal offences. EPA must operate within a broader prosecutorial framework as part of the criminal justice system. This requires the highest standard of integrity to be applied to any decisions around prosecutions.

In cases where there are several possible defendants, EPA may prosecute one, some or all parties, depending on the circumstances. If a corporation by act or omission has broken the law, section 66B of the EP Act also holds individual directors and those concerned in the management of the corporation to account, subject to some defences.

Read more about prosecutions in the Compliance and Enforcement Policy PDF (PDF 1.18MB)

Criteria for a prosecution

In deciding whether or not to prosecute, EPA adopts the guidelines of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) (in particular, Policy 2: the Prosecutorial Discretion, available at www.opp.vic.gov.au External site ) which are based on the Australian Prosecutorial Guidelines.


EPA Prior Convictions Register by Financial Year

Prosecutions undertaken by the EPA from July 2001 are detailed below.

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