Environment Protection Authority Victoria

The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is Victoria’s environmental regulator. EPA is an independent statutory authority, established in 1971 under the Environment Protection Act 1970 (EP Act). EPA's role is to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of pollution and waste on Victorians and their environment. EPA sits within the portfolio of Energy, Environment and Climate Change; the Minister of which is the Hon. Ingrid Stitt MLC. History Established under the Environment Protection Act 1970, EPA is the world's third oldest environmental regulatory agency. It was established to address environmental problems across the state in a systematic and integrated way, bringing together a range of legislation and powers to be administered by a central authority. In July 2021 the Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 came into effect, transforming the structure under which EPA works. The cornerstone of the new Act is the general environmental duty, which states that all persons (i.e. legal entities, including corporations) who are undertaking any activity which poses a risk of harm to human health or to the environment has a duty to minimise those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.