Section 527E — Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: Meaning of impact

(1) For the purposes of this Act, an event or circumstance is an impact of an action taken by a person if: (a) the event or circumstance is a direct consequence of the action; or (b) for an event or circumstance that is an indirect consequence of the action—subject to subsection (2), the action is a substantial cause of that event or circumstance. (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), if: (a) a person (the primary person) takes an action (the primary action); and (b) as a consequence of the primary action, another person (the secondary person) takes another action (the secondary action); and (c) the secondary action is not taken at the direction or request of the primary person; and (d) an event or circumstance is a consequence of the secondary action; then that event or circumstance is an impact of the primary action only if: (e) the primary action facilitates, to a major extent, the secondary action; and (f) the secondary action is: (i) within the contemplation of the primary person; or (ii) a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the primary action; and (g) the event or circumstance is: (i) within the contemplation of the primary person; or (ii) a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the secondary action.