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WHS Law Briefing
Welcome to our WHS Law Briefing. This briefing identifies key issues and emerging trends in WHS Law, and details significant legislative and case law developments from February to date in July 2025.
Australia | Publication | March 2024
Penalties for many environmental crimes will double under the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Stronger Regulation and Penalties) Bill 2024, introduced on 14 March 2024.
Recent criminal investigations into asbestos-contaminated mulch, and a general need to strengthen penalties and deterrence, prompted these changes.
The Bill includes the following increased penalties:
The Bill also grants the following powers to the EPA and the Land and Environment Court:
These amendments clearly signal an increased focus on environmental crime, and in particular, greater scrutiny on waste-related activities.
Whilst the EPA has always had the power to cast a wide net when investigating and prosecuting waste offences, the Bill specifically empowers the EPA to investigate the entire material/waste supply chain, and to order product recalls of potentially contaminated material on an urgent basis.
These sweeping powers make it even more important for businesses who may be on the receiving end of recycled or reprocessed materials to ensure the integrity of all generators and operators along the supply chain.
Publication
Welcome to our WHS Law Briefing. This briefing identifies key issues and emerging trends in WHS Law, and details significant legislative and case law developments from February to date in July 2025.
Publication
In Roberts Co (NSW) Pty Ltd v Sharvain Facades Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) [2025] NSWCA 161, the NSW Court of Appeal has found that, for the purposes of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (SoP Act), a deeming clause providing that a notice given after 5pm is to be treated as having been given and received at 9am on the next business day, does not extend the statutory time period for service of a payment schedule.
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