Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 444 — Authorised person may ask for person’s name and address
(1) An authorised officer may ask an individual to tell the authorised officer the individual’s name and address if the authorised officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual has…
Section 444A — Seizure of specimens involved in a contravention of Part 13A
(1) An authorised officer may seize a specimen if he or she has reasonable grounds to suspect that the specimen has been used or otherwise involved in the commission of an offence against Part 13A.…
Section 444B — Notice about seizure
(1) Subject to subsection (2), if a specimen is seized by an authorised officer under section 444A, the authorised officer must give: (a) the owner of the specimen; or (b) the person who had…
Section 444C — Applications for return of specimen
(1) If a specimen is seized under section 444A, the owner of the specimen may apply in writing to the Secretary for the delivery to the owner of the specimen. (2) The application must be made: (a)…
Section 444D — Court action for return of specimen
(1) If a specimen is seized under section 444A, the owner of the specimen may bring an action against the Commonwealth in a court of competent jurisdiction for the delivery of the specimen to the…
Section 444E — Consignment of specimen with consent of owner
(1) If: (a) a specimen is seized under section 444A; and (b) the specimen was imported from a particular foreign country; and (c) the export of the specimen from the foreign country was not in…
Section 444G — Retention of specimen
(1) If a specimen is seized under section 444A, the specimen may be retained until the end of 30 days after whichever is the latest of the following events: (a) the seizure; (b) if a notice is given…
Section 444H — Forfeiture of specimen after end of retention period
(1) If: (a) a specimen is seized under section 444A; and (b) none of the following happens before the end of the period for which the specimen may be retained: (i) proceedings are instituted for an…
Section 445 — Seizure of things (other than specimens involved in a contravention of Part 13A)
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an authorised officer may seize a thing if he or she has reasonable grounds to suspect that it is evidential material in relation to an offence against an…
Section 446 — Retention of things seized under this Subdivision
(1) This section applies to a thing that is seized under section 445. (1A) The thing may be retained until: (a) the reason for the seizure no longer exists; or (b) it is decided that the thing is not…
Section 447 — Direction to deliver seizable items
(1) An authorised officer may direct a person to deliver to the officer, or to another person specified in the direction, a thing that the officer is authorised to seize under a warrant issued under…
Section 449 — Immediate disposal of seized items
(1) If: (a) a thing is seized under this Part; and (b) the Secretary considers that it is reasonably likely that the retention of the thing would: (i) constitute a serious threat to the environment;…
Section 449A — Disposal of seized items if Secretary cannot locate or identify person entitled etc.
(1) This section applies to a thing that is seized under this Part if: (a) apart from this section, the thing is required to be returned or delivered to a person (or reasonable steps are required to…
Section 449BA — Release of seized items to owner etc.
(1) If a thing is seized under this Part, the Secretary may authorise the thing, or anything in, on or attached to the thing, to be released to its owner, or to the person from whose possession it…
Section 449BB — How this Part applies in relation to things released conditionally
(1) This section applies if a thing, or anything in, on or attached to a thing, seized under this Part is released on conditions to a person under section 449BA. The provision of this Part under…
Section 450 — Court-ordered forfeiture: order by court dealing with offence proceedings
(1) If a court convicts a person of an offence against an environmental law, the court may order the forfeiture to the Commonwealth of any thing used or otherwise involved in the commission of the…
Section 450A — Court-ordered forfeiture: other situations
(1) A court may, on the application of the Secretary, order the forfeiture to the Commonwealth of a thing that is seized under this Part if the court is satisfied that the thing has been used or…
Section 450B — Forfeiture of seized items by consent etc.
(1) If: (a) a thing is seized under this Part; and (b) the owner of the thing agrees to transfer ownership of the thing to the Commonwealth, either: (i) unconditionally; or (ii) in the event that a…
Section 451 — Dealings in forfeited items
(1) A thing forfeited to the Commonwealth under this Act becomes the property of the Commonwealth. (2) A thing forfeited to the Commonwealth under this Act is to be dealt with in such manner as the…
Section 452 — Delivery of forfeited items to the Commonwealth
(1) If: (a) a thing is forfeited to the Commonwealth under this Act; and (b) the thing has not been dealt with under section 451; and (c) the thing is in the possession, custody or control of a…
Section 453 — Keeping of organisms or specimens retained under this Part
If a person is authorised under this Part to retain an organism or specimen, the person may do so by causing the organism or specimen to be taken to, and kept at, a place approved by the Secretary…
Section 454 — Recovery of costs of storing or keeping organisms or specimens
(1) If an organism or specimen is seized under this Division, the owner is liable to pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the sum of the following costs: (a) reasonable costs incurred by the…
Section 455 — Rescuing things
A person commits an offence punishable upon conviction by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years if: (a) the person rescues any thing; and (b) the thing has been, or is about to be, seized…
Section 456 — Breaking or destroying things or documents to prevent seizure etc.
A person must not: (a) stave, break or destroy any thing in order to prevent the seizure of a thing, the securing of a thing, or the proof of any offence under an environmental law; or (b) destroy…
Section 456AA — Power to seize cages or containers containing seizable things
(1) This section applies if: (a) an authorised officer has power to seize a thing (a seizable thing) under another provision of this Part; and (b) the seizable thing is in a cage or container; and…
Section 456AB — Retention of seized cage or container
(1) This section applies to a cage or container that is seized under section 456AA because it contains a seizable thing. (2) The cage or container may be retained for so long as an authorised officer…
Section 456AC — Retention of non-seizable things contained in seized cages or containers
(1) This section applies if: (a) a cage or container is seized under section 456AA because it contains a seizable thing; and (b) the cage or container also contains a thing (a non-seizable thing)…
Section 458 — Directed environmental audits
(1) The Minister may, by written notice given to the holder of an environmental authority, require the holder to carry out an environmental audit if the Minister believes or suspects on reasonable…
Section 459 — Appointment of auditor and carrying out of audit
(1) If the Minister gives the holder of an environmental authority a notice under section 458, the holder must appoint an environmental auditor and arrange for the auditor to carry out an…
Section 460 — Nature of directed environmental audit
(1) If: (a) an environmental auditor carries out a directed environmental audit; and (b) in the course of carrying out the audit, the auditor does not deal with a particular matter; and (c) the…
Section 461 — Audit reports
(1) After completing a directed environmental audit, the environmental auditor must prepare, and give the holder of the relevant environmental authority, a written report setting out the results of…
Section 462 — Directed environmental audits do not affect other audit obligations
This Division does not affect any obligation of a holder of an environmental authority to carry out an environmental audit in accordance with a condition of the authority.
Section 463 — Simplified outline of this Division
The following is a simplified outline of this Division: The Minister may make conservation orders controlling activities, and requiring specified people to take specified actions, in Commonwealth…
Section 464 — Minister may make conservation orders
Making conservation orders (1) The Minister may make a written order (a conservation order): (a) prohibiting or restricting specified activities on or in: (i) all Commonwealth areas; or (ii)…
Section 465 — Duration of conservation orders
(1) A conservation order comes into force: (a) if a commencement day is specified in the order—on that day; or (b) otherwise—immediately after it is made. (2) The order remains in force: (a) for the…
Section 466 — Reviews of conservation orders
(1) The Minister must: (a) at intervals of not more than 5 years, review the conservation order; and (b) after each review, confirm, vary or revoke the order by instrument in writing. (2) Before…
Section 467 — Publication of conservation orders
(1) As soon as practicable after making or reviewing a conservation order, the Minister must cause the Secretary to be informed of the making of the order, or the decision on the review, as the case…
Section 468 — Application for reconsideration of conservation orders or decisions on review
(1) A person affected by a conservation order, or by the decision on a review of a conservation order, may apply to the Minister to reconsider the order or the decision, as the case requires. (2) The…
Section 469 — Reconsideration of conservation orders and decisions on review
(1) Upon receiving the application, the Minister must: (a) seek the Secretary’s advice on the application; and (b) reconsider the conservation order or the decision on review, as the case requires;…
Section 470 — Contravening conservation orders is an offence
(1) A person must not take an action reckless as to whether the action contravenes a conservation order. Penalty: 500 penalty units. (2) If a person believes that taking an action that he or she…
Section 471 — Minister to consider proposed actions etc.
(1) This section applies to a proposed action if it is referred to the Minister under section 470 for the Minister’s advice on whether it would contravene a conservation order. (2) A person who…
Section 472 — Contents of notices of advice
(1) The notice of advice must state whether the Minister thinks that the proposed action would contravene a conservation order. (2) If the decision to give the advice was not made personally by the…
Section 473 — Review by the Administrative Review Tribunal
(1) Subject to subsections (1A) and (2), applications may be made to the Administrative Review Tribunal for review of the decision to give the advice. (1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to a decision…
Section 474 — Assistance in complying with conservation orders
(1) On behalf of the Commonwealth, the Secretary may provide assistance to a person (other than a Commonwealth agency) to comply with prohibitions, restrictions or requirements imposed on a person by…
Section 475 — Injunctions for contravention of the Act
Applications for injunctions (1) If a person has engaged, engages or proposes to engage in conduct consisting of an act or omission that constitutes an offence or other contravention of this Act or…
Section 476 — Injunctions for contraventions of conservation agreements
Applications for injunctions (1) If a person bound by a conservation agreement engages or proposes to engage in conduct consisting of an act or omission that constitutes a contravention of the…
Section 477 — Discharge of injunctions
On application, the Federal Court may discharge or vary an injunction.
Section 479 — Certain considerations for granting injunctions not relevant
Prohibitory injunctions (1) The Federal Court may grant an injunction restraining a person from engaging in conduct: (a) whether or not it appears to the Court that the person intends to engage…
Section 480 — Powers conferred are in addition to other powers of the Court
The powers conferred on the Federal Court by this Division are in addition to (and do not limit) any other powers of the Court.
Section 480A — Remediation orders
(1) If, after the commencement of this section, a person has engaged, or is engaging, in conduct constituting an offence or other contravention of this Act or the regulations, the Federal Court may…