General information about Queensland law, not legal advice. The official place to check is the Environmental Protection Act 1994, in its version current at 29 June 2026.
01 · whenWhen Division 2 applies
The main trigger is in section 320A(1)(a): a person who, “while carrying out an activity (the primary activity), becomes aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware, that an event has happened that causes or threatens serious or material environmental harm because of the person’s or someone else’s act or omission in carrying out the primary activity or another activity being carried out in association with the primary activity”.
A second trigger, in section 320A(1)(b), covers a resource activity other than a mining activity, where the person becomes aware, or ought reasonably to have, that the activity “has negatively affected, or is reasonably likely to negatively affect, the water quality of an aquifer”, or “has caused the connection of 2 or more aquifers”. The Division also reaches owners and occupiers of land, certain auditors and local governments, set out in the table below. How the Act measures serious or material environmental harm is not set out here; the Act itself is the place to read it.
Section 320A(4) · when Division 2 does not apply
The Division “does not apply if the event is authorised to be caused under”:
- “an environmental protection policy”
- “a transitional environmental program”
- “an environmental enforcement order”
- “an environmental authority”
- “a PRCP schedule”
- “a development condition of a development approval”
- “a prescribed condition for carrying out a small scale mining activity”
- “an emergency direction”
- “an agricultural ERA standard”
- “a temporary emissions licence.”
02 · who and whenWho tells whom, and by when
For an employee, employer or person working on their own account, each notice gives the event, its nature and the circumstances in which it happened. Each clock runs from becoming aware or from when the person ought reasonably to have become aware, and each duty except the local government’s yields to a reasonable excuse.
| Who | Must tell | Deadline | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| An employee or agent carrying out the activity for someone else (s 320B), other than certain auditors | The employer; or, if the employer cannot be contacted, the administering authority in writing | 24 hours | 100 |
| A person carrying out the activity on their own account (s 320C) | The administering authority, in writing; then any occupier or registered owner of affected land in writing, or persons on the land by public notice | 24 hours; then as soon as reasonably practicable | 500 for an event under s 320A(1)(a); 100 for one under s 320A(1)(b) |
| An employer told by an employee under s 320B(3) (s 320D) | The same as s 320C | 24 hours; then as soon as reasonably practicable | 500 or 100, as for s 320C |
| An owner or occupier of land, or certain auditors (s 320DA) | The administering authority in writing: for a hazardous contaminant, or a change in contaminated land, the nature of the matter and how the person became aware of it; for a notifiable activity, the activity | 24 hours; or 20 business days for a notifiable activity | 500 |
| A local government (s 320DB) | The administering authority in writing | 24 hours; or 20 business days for a notifiable activity | None printed in the section |
The owner, occupier and local government duties apply to a hazardous contaminant causing, or reasonably likely to cause, serious or material environmental harm; to such a change in the condition of contaminated land; and to a notifiable activity carried out on the land.
03 · the neighboursNotice to people on affected land
Affected land is “land on which an event has caused or threatens serious or material environmental harm”. Its occupier is “a person who lives or works on the affected land”, and its registered owner is the registered owner under the Land Title Act 1994 or the lessee under the Land Act 1994. Public notice is “a notice given in the way prescribed under a regulation”, and the Act’s example is “a radio or television broadcast”.
Under section 320E, written notice to an occupier is taken to be given if it is:
- “left with someone who is apparently an adult living or working on the affected land”
- “if there is no-one on the affected land or the person has been denied access to the affected land”: “left on the affected land in a position where it is reasonably likely to come to the occupier’s attention”
- “posted to the affected land.”
Notice posted to, or left at, the land “may be addressed to ‘The Occupier’”. These are not the only ways: the section does not limit how notice may be given.
04 · afterwardsDefences, and the notice in court
- A defence. In a prosecution under the Division, it is a defence to prove that, despite the failure, the person or employer “made reasonable efforts to identify the affected land and give written notice to each registered owner or occupier of the affected land” (s 320F(1)).
- Not an excuse. It is not a reasonable excuse that the notice “might tend to incriminate the person or employer” (s 320F(2)).
- The notice in court. A written notice given under the Division “is not admissible in evidence against the person or employer in a prosecution for an offence against this Act that is constituted by the act or omission that caused the event under the notice” (s 320G(1)). Other evidence obtained because of the notice can still be admitted (s 320G(2)).