Environment Protection Act 1997

For this division, to assess whether land is contaminated with 1 or more substances in such a way as to present, or to be likely to present a significant risk of harm to human health, or a risk of material environmental harm or serious environmental harm, the authority must include a consideration of all of the following matters in the assessment:

whether the contamination of the land has already caused harm;

whether the substances are toxic, persistent or bioaccumulative or are present in large quantities or high concentrations or occur in combinations;

whether there are routes by which the substances may proceed from the source of the contamination to human beings or other aspects of the environment;

whether the uses to which the land and land adjoining it are currently being put are such as to increase the risk of harm;

whether the use of the land and land adjoining it, being a use permitted by the lease to which the land is subject, is such as to increase the risk of harm;

whether the substances have migrated or are likely to migrate from the land (whether because of the nature of the substances or the nature of the land);

any environment protection policy made by the authority on contamination and remediation;

any relevant national environment protection measure.

Subject to subsection (3), land may be regarded at any particular time as being contaminated in such a way as to present a significant risk of harm even if the harm could come into existence only in certain circumstances of occupation or use of the land and those circumstances do not exist at that time.

Land must be regarded in the way mentioned in subsection (2), if the circumstances are reasonably foreseeable, and consistent with the approved use of the land, at that time.