The Environment Protection Act 2017, as significantly amended by the Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 and other Acts, came into effect on 1 July 2021.

It includes environmental obligations and protections for all Victorians and  changes Victoria’s focus for environment protection and human health to a prevention-based approach. It includes the general environmental duty (GED).

The Act gives EPA enhanced powers and tools to prevent and minimise the risks of harm to human health and the environment from pollution and waste. It also provides EPA with the ability to pursue stronger sanctions and penalties to hold environmental polluters to account. 

The main purposes of the Act include:

• providing for the EPA and its governance structure
• specifying that EPA’s objective is to protect human health and the environment by reducing the harmful effects of pollution and waste
• setting out 11 principles of environment protection
• setting out the legislative framework for the protection of human health and the environment from pollution and waste 
• providing for a GED to minimise risks of harm to human health and the environment from pollution or waste 
• establishing a permissions scheme that enables EPA to issue or grant development licences, operating licences, pilot project licences, permits (including in relation to tunnel boring machine spoil) and registrations 
• providing a framework for the management of waste
• enabling EPA and authorised officers to ensure compliance with the Act and require action to manage risks of harm to human health and the environment from pollution or waste 
• providing for a system of criminal and civil penalties 
• providing for a system of civil remedies and compensation orders available to the Court.

The Act is available at Victorian Legislation.

The purpose of the Pollution of Waters by Oils and Noxious Substances Act 1986 (POWBONS Act) is to protect the sea and other waters from pollution by oil and noxious substances and to implement the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (the Marpol Convention).

EPA and the Department of Transport jointly administer this Act.

• The POWBONS Regulations 2022 is available at Victorian Legislation.
• The POWBONS Act is available at Victorian Legislation.

The National Environment Protection Council (Victoria) Act 1995 is complementary legislation to the other states and the Commonwealth. This Act establishes the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC). It is made up of a Minister from the Commonwealth and each State and Territory. This is to ensure that people are equally protected from air, water soil and noise pollution, no matter where they live in Australia. 

The NEPC achieves its objectives through National Environment Protection Measures (NEPMs). These are framework-setting statutory instruments that outline agreed national objectives for protecting or managing aspects of the environment.  

The National Environment Protection Council (Victoria) Act 1995 is available at Victorian Legislation.

Regulations support the Act by providing clarity and further detail for duty holders on how to fulfil their obligations. Regulations are used to deal with matters in detail and may contain their own penalties for breaches.

The Environment Protection Regulations 2021 (Regulations) support the objectives of the legislation – to prevent or minimise risks of harm to human health or the environment from pollution or waste. The objectives of the Regulations are to further the purposes of, and give effect to, the Act by:

• imposing obligations in relation to environmental protection, pollution incidents, contaminated land and waste, including in relation to on-site wastewater management systems 
• providing for activities and other matters for the purposes of permissions under the Act 
• specifying matters in relation to litter, water, the atmosphere, land, noise and vehicle emissions 
• encouraging retailers and consumers to reduce the overall use of plastic bags that often enter the environment as litter, by banning thin, single-use plastic shopping bags 
• setting out additional matters in relation to the environmental audit system 
• prescribing activities in respect of which the environment protection levy or the waste levy is payable, or when EPA may require a financial assurance 
• prescribing the form and manner of certain applications 
• prescribing infringement offences and infringement penalties 
• providing for exemptions from certain provisions of the Act and the Regulations 
• prescribing the fees payable under the Act 
• providing for transitional arrangements 
• prescribing other matters necessary to give effect to the Act.

The Environment Protection Regulations 2021 are available at Victorian Legislation. A summary of the Regulations is also available.

The Environment Protection Transitional Regulations 2021 expired on 30 June 2023. The objectives of these Regulations were:

• to provide for persons appointed as approved testers under the Environment Protection Act 1970 to be taken to be approved motor vehicle testers under the Act
• to provide for motor vehicle certificates of compliance issued under the Environment Protection Act 1970 to be taken to continue to be valid under the Act 
• to save certain clauses in the State Environment Protection Policy (Waters) for two years 
• to save certain waste classifications
• to provide that equivalent new permissions under the Act are taken to be issued or granted by the Authority or a council
• to save the Environment Protection (Management of Tunnel Boring Machine Spoil) Regulations 2020, with certain amendments, for two years.

The revoked Environment Protection Transitional Regulations 2021 are available at Victorian Legislation. 

The Victorian Government created the Environment Protection (Management of Tunnel Boring Machine Spoil) Regulations 2020 (TBMS Regulations) to provide a way for the management and disposal of tunnel boring machine (TBM) spoil.

These Regulations were saved until 30 June 2023 by the Environment Protection Transitional Regulations 2021 (see above), with certain changes to make them work under the new environmental protection framework. 

The TBMS Regulations required duty holders to comply with an EPA-approved Environment Management Plan (EMP) and strict conditions set out in the TBMS Regulations, as amended by the Environment Protection Transitional Regulations 2021.

The revoked Environment Protection (Management of Tunnel Boring Machine Spoil) Regulations 2020 are available at Victorian Legislation.