PUN363 Environmental Health Law
Assessment Item 3 – Semester 1 (40% weight)
Scenario – 2, 500 words ± 10%
Task
This assessment piece is a Report, and NOT an Essay. Therefore, the style of your document will be
different from that of typical assignments. Do not add a summary/abstract section.
Use the legal frameworks provided by the Public Health Act 2005, Environmental Protection Act 1994,
Local Government Act 2009 and the associated subordinate legislation including relevant local laws to
resolve the scenario.
The owner of the company you work has asked you to prepare a report advising him of potential
environmental health issues involved in the current operation of the site and relevant legislative
requirements. You should compare and contrast the frameworks provided under each of these pieces of
legislation and describe what course of action the company needs to take.
This should include a detailed discussion of the environmental health issues associated with the current
accommodation, the legislative requirements associated with each environmental health issue and how
the company can comply with these requirements. Please note that you need to nominate all the relevant
sections in each piece of legislation. You will also need to include details of how the Regulatory agency
can now gain access to the site (including sections of the legislation etc) given that the owner has
previously refused entry.
You need to nominate all the relevant sections in each piece of legislation that is related to the operation
of the site. This should include a detailed discussion of what environmental health issues exist on the
property, what action the company needs to take to resolve these issues using the legal frameworks
provided by the above- mentioned legislation. You also need to provide timeframes you decide are
appropriate for the actions to be undertaken and provide a rationale for these timeframes based around
a risk matrix.
Your report must include an example of at least two (2) formal notices that your company may be issued
as appendices to your report and these should be based on what you consider to be of highlest risk to the
public or environment. These should reflect the recommendations and actions proposed within your
report.
Please also note what organisational issues/risks are associated with this situation and some options for
addressing those.
Guidance for key item/s could be addressed
Issue (100 words): In legal terms, an issue is only when the law/legislation has anything to say about a
particular topic. Provide the details of any issue(s) by referring to the most relevant area(s) of law that
governs the situation. This must outline how these issues can impact on human health and/or
environmental protection. Do not use and cite case law and specific sections/verses of legislation in this
part.
Application (100 words): Clearly explain why there is any legal issue that requires addressing. Links
between EH risks and their flow-on effects are identified, e.g. description of how the EH risks can
affect the health of the community and/or the receiving environment, etc. Description of the EH risks is
of a similar quality to that of what a Regulatory Officer would give a Magistrate / manager to explain
the importance / significance of an EH risk to human health and / or environment protection. Support
your answer with legal principles, and academic and industry references.
Rules and Relevant Law (about 250 words): Identify and establish the legal principles (e.g., specific
sections/verses of legislation or areas of common law) that are applicable and you will use to address
the issue(s). Here, you must use specific sections/verses of legislation. Each element might require
consultation with different pieces of legislation. In this section you should compare and contrast the
frameworks provided under each of these pieces of legislation and describe which is more appropriate
for dealing with this situation. (including the associated enforcement provisions, penalties etc.) to
determine the pros and cons of using each provision.
Conclusion/recommendation (about 50 words): Taking an independent view, choose the key
argument you have identified that you feel strongest to support your conclusive opinion and discuss and
outline your recommendations for each concern.
Citations & Reference List
All the material you have cited in the report must be referenced in the appropriate style. You need to
carefully follow the QUT cite/write, APA format, 7th edition preferred.
Limit
The assessment response is to be of 2,500 ± 10% words in total. The suggested word counts above are
indicative and the actual distribution can vary. Deviation from the limit will attract a grade penalty
proportional to the deviation. For example, if you generate a report of 3,500 words, meaning 750 words
more than the upper limit, you will receive a penalty. The same applies to cases with word counts lower
than the limit mentioned above.
Title Page and Reference List, tables and appendices etc do not contribute to the word count.
Please note that you need to nominate all the relevant sections in each piece of legislation that is
related to the investigation, from first entering the property through to finalising the matter. This needs
to demonstrate that the investigation would be carried out lawfully. You also need to include any
compliance notices etc you would serve as appendices to your report.
Submission
Submit your assessment via Canvas following the directions provided.
The submission must be made by 11:59 pm/23:59 hours Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on
Tuesday 6 June 2023 via Canvas. The allowable 48 hour extension will also apply to this assessment.
Students may submit a draft in and resubmit the final document to check for similarity. Please mind the
limitations when resubmitting multiple times.
Marking Criteria
A Marking Criteria Sheet is provided in the Assessment 3 folder on Canvas.
PUN363 Assignment 3, Sem 1 2022
Natalie MacGregor © Page 3
Scenario:
It is March 2023, you are employed by a company that operates within the Western Downs Regional Council area
and you have been employed as the HSE Officer. You have been advised that one of the previous workers had
complained to the State Government and Local Government regarding their operations and you need to resolve the
issues as the owner and Manager (John Smith) had refused the entry of two Local Government Environmental Health
Officers.
As you arrive on site, you see that;
• Numerous boats are stacked around the site and as you get out of the car you hear several people talking and see
the Manager receiving cash from a member of the public.
• Oil is leaking onto the ground in several areas.
• There are open drums of water and an unscreened rainwater tank
• There is a portaloo and an open shower; a n d
• There are shipping containers that are make- shift homes for some of the staff that include cooking equipment.
You review previous aerial photography of the site and note that over the past 4 years numerous boats have accumulated
on the site behind the main operation workshop and approximately 18 months ago 3 shipping containers were placed
on the site. You speak with the owner John Smith, however he has limited understanding of Planning Act 2016, and
any other Local Government/State Government planning legislation, and advises you that that is why you got the job.
You contact the Council on the owners behalf and are advised that the main house and workshop located at the front
of the yard have relevant building and plumbing approvals however no application has ever been submitted to
Council under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
A further inspection of the site reveals that;
• 10 drums filled with water, 3 cut-off rainwater tanks (i.e. no lids), 2 unscreened rainwater tanks and several
smaller containers holding water.
• Mosquito larvae in most of the drums, tanks and containers as well as in water pooling in some car bodies.
• Several boats that have been stripped of some parts and some of the workers are carrying out repairs on the
hulls of two of the boats.
• Oil leaking onto the ground in several areas.
• Sump oil in 8 full 200L drums. Two of the drums are leaking. The drums are located on bare earth 20m
uphill from Condamine River.
• Overgrown grass and vegetation around the car bodies and at the rear of the property.
• All the shipping containers are fitted out as homes and have people living in them. When the workers were
interviewed, they advised you that they pay $100 per week in rent.
• There are numerous cigarette butts on the ground.
• There is a portaloo and the temporary shower discharges across the ground. The waste water from the shower
runs downhill towards the River.
• The w o rk er s living in the shipping containers only have access to the water in the outside containers
which they use for drinking, cooking and bathing.