We make decisions about how to protect the environment from pollution and waste. These decisions affect our community. We provide opportunities to involve the community in these decisions.
One way we do this is through public consultations. View our Charter of consultation [PDF 5.6MB]. This outlines what consultation we must do under the law and how we consult with the community.
Standards and regulations
We consult with the community to set and review environmental standards. We use these standards to:
- benchmark environmental quality
- put in place environmental management programs
- determine permissions
- undertake compliance and enforcement activity.
We also consult with the community to make regulations. Regulations are the rules everyone must follow to manage pollution and waste.
We make new regulations when specific laws are needed to protect the environment. These often address specific areas of environment protection – for example, air and water quality, waste management or contaminated land.
Visit Engage Victoria(opens in a new window) to see our current public consultations.
Position statements
Position statements provide clarity on how we interpret parts of the Environment Protection Act 2017. They also describe how we exercise our discretion in particular circumstances or matters.
We publish draft position statements:
- in the Government Gazette
- on this website
- in other publications that reach interested stakeholders.
When we draft a position statement, we ask for public comments and feedback. We then publish a summary statement on this website. This summary explains the issues raised in public comments and submissions.
We publish final position statements on our Public register.
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