The Environment Protection Act 2017 (the Act) prohibits certain persons from engaging in some activities regulated by the EPA. Considering an applicant’s status as a prohibited person (PP) is part of the fit and proper person (F&PP) assessment process.

EPA takes the definition of a prohibited person as having the same meaning as under section 88 of the Act.

Who the test applies to

If you’re legally responsible for the ownership, administration or management of the activity then the assessment applies to you. This may include:

  • a natural person
  • a body corporate
  • executive officers, directors and company secretaries
  • partners or trustees
  • an equivalent responsible company employee or employees directly responsible for the overall activity management or premises.

Where there are multiple people responsible for the activity, each person may need an assessment.

Find out more about this in the Fit and proper person policy (publication 1938).

Prohibited person assessment process

A prohibited person assessment starts with you completing our Prohibited person questionnaire (publication F1018). You may also need to provide further supporting evidence.

The next stage is we review your responses and verify any information you’ve submitted to determine the assessment outcome. During the assessment, we may also ask for more information or evidence.

Outcomes of a prohibited person assessment

When deciding if a person is a prohibited person or not, we consider all the circumstances involved in each case. We will notify you of our assessment decision in writing. If there’s a negative assessment outcome, we will explain the reasons for this.

Note: If we consider you a prohibited person, we must not determine that you are a fit and proper person. For more information, see the Fit and proper person policy (publication 1938).

Read more about prohibited person assessment

Fit and proper person under the new laws

Permissions

Reviewed 17 June 2021