Date of offence
Between 03 Jan 2009 and 23 Mar 2010
Type of offence
Dump industrial waste at unlicensed site at Diggers Rest between 03.01.09 to 23.03.10, contrary to s.27A(2)(a).
Background of offence

An EPA investigation revealed that Kingston Plant Hire Victoria Pty Ltd (KPHV) permitted the deposit of hundreds of tonnes of industrial waste at a site in Diggers Rest, between January 2009 and March 2010. The investigation revealed that 300 tonnes of trade waste was deposited on a large property in Duncans Lane, Diggers Rest, which was permitted to receive only clean fill by Hume City Council. The waste was mainly bricks and concrete, but also included steel cables, terracotta pipe and fibreglass roofing. The Diggers Rest site was not licensed to accept any industrial waste.

Remedial action taken by EPA
Clean Up Notice

Clean Up Notice issued pursuant to section 62A of the EP Act.
Date of court hearing
8 March 2012
Date of court order
8 March 2012
Court magistrate
Mr J. Doherty
Court location
Broadmeadows
Reasons for prosecution
In accordance with the Compliance and Enforcement Policy, this matter involved a high level of culpability because of the amount of waste deposited and duration of the offending. The culpability was exacerbated by the fact that KPHV knew or ought to have known that this was illegal activity. In addition, the dumping of industrial waste is a target area for EPA enforcement and aligned to the Illegal Dumping Strike Force Program.

Court orders made

Without conviction, fined $35,000 and ordered pursuant to s.67AC:

  1. The defendant is ordered to publicise the offence, its consequences and any penalties imposed or orders made by this Court by publishing a notice about these proceedings.
  2. The notice must contain the Defendant’s corporate logo and be:
    • in the wording specified in paragraph 4 below (no additional text)
    • of a minimum size of 12cm by 3 columns
    • in Arial at font size 10
    • surrounded by a continuous black border
    • published within 60 days of the date of this Order in the Editorial section or the front part of the Early General News section of:
      • The Australian Financial Review
      • The Age
      • The Herald Sun
      • Hume Leader
      • Hume Weekly.
  3. The Defendant must provide the Informant with a copy of each notice within 14 days of its publication.

[The wording of the notice is was specified].

Within 7 days of the date of this Order, the Defendant must post the above notice on its http://www.kingstonplanthire.com.au website, in the “profile” section, and maintain it there for 30 continuous days.

Costs: $14,818.20

Reviewed 13 March 2020