Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288:reg:1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1
Character Range: 3064175–3067103

1                   Purpose and application
This Schedule provides a systematic approach to effective community engagement and risk communication in relation to the assessment of site contamination. It is not intended to be prescriptive but is intended to be used as a tool for effective engagement by consultants and regulators and should also provide a useful reference for all stakeholders including industry, government, landholders and the wider community. It should be noted that, in addition to this Schedule, each state or territory has its own regulatory requirements regarding notification of contamination/pollution to the appropriate regulatory agency.

There are three principles to the approach taken in the preparation of this Schedule:
    * that an evaluation regarding the probable need, nature and extent of community engagement for a project should be carried out by site managers with expertise in risk communication at an early stage in the preliminary assessment of site contamination, and should detailed investigations identify contamination that has the potential (or the perceived potential) to have an impact on any stakeholder
    * that interaction with the community cannot simply be a technical process; it requires skills in listening and communicating and should be a two-way process
    * that for sites with contentious issues, engagement with the community is considered to be essential. This is particularly the case when the contamination at the site has the potential (or the perceived potential) to have an impact on any stakeholder and where impacts are known to extend outside the boundaries of the site.
As an indication, engagement with the community is likely to be particularly beneficial in the following situations:

amenity/nuisance  when the assessment or decisions on and implementation of remediation strategies informed by the assessment of the site may affect the amenity of the locality, for example, by way of temporary noise, odour, emissions or dust

significant contamination  where a high level of contamination has the potential to affect the adjacent community, or where the contaminant types are controversial

site proximity  where the site is near to residential areas or particularly sensitive receptors and/or vulnerable sub-populations, such as childcare centres, schools or nursing homes, and sensitive ecological receptors

controversial sites  where the site or locality has a controversial history that may be related to the site contamination, or the development of the site is controversial for political, economic or social reasons, or where the characteristics or toxicity of the contamination may be controversial, or where contamination has moved outside the site boundaries, or a remediation method may be proposed that is perceived as controversial or that is likely to affect the amenity of the locality or give rise to nuisance conditions.