Managing the environment

Crown land managers are responsible for the environmental management of the land making up their reserves. ‘Environment’ refers to all aspects of the natural environment, including land, air, water, plants and animals (flora and fauna), as well as the human environment (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural and built heritage).

In NSW, there is a range of environmental legislation to protect the environment and/or control human use of natural resources. The type of reserve and its use will determine the environmental legislation that applies. For example, the environmental legislation that applies to managing a community hall will be different to that for a reserve comprising a natural area with walking trails.

Also known as ‘natural resource management’ or ‘land management’, environmental management looks at our ongoing activities and how they affect the reserve, development and planning, pollution control and biodiversity.

Before deciding whether to carry out an activity that may affect the environment, you must ensure the activity and its impacts are ecologically sustainable. You must consider any planning approvals and/or licences (under the Environmental Planning Assessment Act 1979), and other obligations such as native title and Aboriginal land claims.

This means when you’re making decisions about actions that will affect the environment, you need to:

• assess the risks and consequences of various options
• take precautions to avoid, wherever practical, serious or irreversible damage to the environment
• keep future generations in mind, and ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment are maintained or improved for their benefit
• make the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity a fundamental basis of any decisions.

Section 6(2) of the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 provides a definition of ‘ecologically sustainable development’ as used in legislation in NSW, and issues to consider when planning activities on your land. 

The primary aim of environmental law is to protect the natural environment, setting out obligations that describe what you must and must not do.

These obligations may change when laws do. Because of this, Crown land managers should be aware of the environmental laws relevant to their specific operations and should keep up to date with any changes.

Pollution and contaminated land

Pollution is the presence or introduction of a substance into the environment that has the potential to harm human health or the environment. Contamination is the ongoing effect of the incident to the environment and or human health.

Section 9.3 of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) prohibits a person from causing or permitting the pollution or contamination of Crown land.

If the incident does not pose an immediate threat, report it to the Department. We can help decide the appropriate action to take, including identifying other organisations responsible. The aim of reporting is to coordinate action as quickly as possible to prevent or limit harm to the environment and/or human health.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has published details on pollution reporting on its website. The Environment Protection Authority administers the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act), which regulates activities for waste management and noise pollution, and activities to protect the air and water.

Under section 60 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997, a person whose activities have contaminated land must notify the Environment Protection Authority when they become aware of the contamination (or ought reasonably to have been aware). This includes Crown land managers or a landowner whose land has been contaminated.

SafeWork NSW administers the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.  The SafeWork NSW website has detailed information, including codes of practice, to help you in working with materials or carrying out activities that have the potential to cause pollution or contamination if not done correctly. For example, this could be fireworks, noise, asbestos and hazardous chemicals.

Biosecurity

Biosecurity refers to the protection of the economy, environment and community from negative effects of pests, diseases, weeds and contaminants.

The Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Biosecurity Act) provides the framework for the prevention, elimination and minimisation of biosecurity risks. Under the Biosecurity Act, there is a general obligation for everyone to be aware of their surroundings and take action to prevent the introduction and spread of pests, diseases, weeds and contaminants.

Certain types of reserves such as showgrounds, racecourses, equestrian and pony club venues that host animal shows and events should establish a set of biosecurity measures that apply to their venue and the type of animal/s coming onto the reserve. The NSW Department of Primary Industries provides a number of resources specific to these types of activities and animals.

Crown land managers must ensure that weeds and pests are managed on Crown land in keeping with the Biosecurity Act. The Department of Primary Industries provides resources on weeds and pest animals (vertebrates and insects) on its website.

For more support, contact:

• your local council weeds officer
• NSW Department of Primary Industries – Invasive Plants and Animals
• your Local Land Services for regional support.

Crown land managers must ensure that the following activities are not carried out:

• buying or selling any weed material or anything containing priority weed material
• removing from reserve land anything containing weed material or having such material on it
• scattering weed material on land or water
• disposing of, transporting or selling soil or turf where the reserve trust ought to have known there was a notifiable weed within that soil or turf.

There are funding opportunities for pest and weed management through the Crown Reserves Improvement Fund Program.

Pesticides

Crown land managers may need to use pesticides on Crown reserves, including:

• herbicides
• insecticides
• fungicides
• bactericides
• baits
• lures
• rodenticides.

The Crown Land Pesticide Use Notification Plan (PDF, 262 KB) applies across all Crown lands. Crown land managers who are using pesticides in a public place should use this as a guide to preparing notices of pesticide use on their reserves.

Unless a Crown land manager has specific training or qualifications, use and storage of pesticides should be limited to what is available for domestic use.

Regulation of pesticide use and management

The NSW Environment Protection Authority regulates the proper use of pesticides through the provisions of the Pesticides Act 1999 and Pesticides Regulation 2017. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority controls which pesticides are registered and sold in Australia.

Crown land managers should be familiar with these regulations before using pesticides on Crown reserves. The misuse of these prescribed chemical products may cause damage or injury, and can lead to prosecution.

Pesticide use notification plan

A pesticide use notification plan must set out:

• the operational area where pesticides will be used
• how and when you will notify the public of the use of pesticides
• the proposed uses, categories of, or specific prescribed public places where there will be public notices
• categories of people to notify who use the prescribed public places regularly
• what protective measures you will take where the pesticide will be used in an area next to a sensitive place such as a school, childcare centre, hospital, nursing home or a place declared to be sensitive by the Environment Protection Authority.

You need to give public notice in keeping with the pesticide use notification plan you have adopted.

Working with pesticides

We recommend that Crown land managers engage qualified contractors to carry out pesticide work on Crown land. If you are using small, domestic quantities of pesticides, ensure you follow all labels and have completed a risk assessment.

Contractors engaged to do pesticide work on Crown land must meet all legislative requirements for their use. This may include completing and maintaining training, holding a licence (from the Environment Protection Authority) and using only pesticides registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.