Department of Environment
and Primary Industries
Ref:
SEC010486
File:
“*SEC010486*”
The Hon Ryan Smith MP
Minister for Environment and Climate Change
8 Nicholson Street
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 8002
8 Nicholson Street
East Melbourne Victoria 3002
Australia
PO Box 500
East Melbourne Victoria 8002
Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9637 8890
Facsimile: +61 3 9637 8100
www.depi.vic.gov.au
DX 210098
Dear Minister
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS FOR LAND FIRE AND ENVIRONMENT
REGULATORS
Thank you for your letter of 30 June 2014, containing your Statement of Expectations (SOE)
for the regulation of land, fire and environment (LFE) business activities by the Department of
Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI). This letter confirms DEPI’s commitment to
improving regulatory performance and reducing costs faced by Victorian businesses and other
regulated parties.
The LFE Regulators cover a number of different regulatory activities, namely: beekeeping on
public land; Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 regulation; native vegetation clearing
controls; environmental regulation of timber harvesting on public land; tour operator
licensing; and wildlife regulation. With regards to responsibilities for operational and
enforcement activities, LFE Regulators includes both DEPI’s Land, Fire and Environment Group
and Regional Services Group.
Our commitment to regulate efficiently and effectively
DEPI recognises the impact that regulation and regulatory practice have on regulated
businesses. Since being established one year ago, DEPI has made organisational changes and
developed frameworks to transform its regulation of the environment and primary industries.
This transformation will, when fully implemented, achieve the Government’s goals for
stakeholder-focussed compliance activities and locally responsive decision-making.
DEPI will embed many of the improvements recommended by the Victorian Auditor-General’s
Office in its 2012 report into the effectiveness of former Department of Sustainability and
Environment and Department of Primary Industries compliance activities. Work is continuing,
to bring consistent processes and approaches to a wide range of regulation and compliance
roles across the merged department.
Privacy Statement
Any personal information about you or a third party in your correspondence will be protected under the provisions
of the Information Privacy Act 2000. It will only be used or disclosed to appropriate Ministerial, Statutory Authority,
or departmental staff in regard to the purpose for which it was provided, unless required or authorised by law. Enquiries
about access to information about you held by the Department should be directed to the Privacy Coordinator,
Department of Environment and Primary Industries, PO Box 500, East Melbourne, Victoria 8002.
For instance, some of the LFE Regulators’ recent regulatory achievements include:
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amendments to the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004 to create a flexible and
tailored approach to matters of non-compliance that are proportionate to the
environmental impact and culpability of the offender;
reforms to Victoria's native vegetation permitted clearing regulations through
amendments to Victoria Planning Provisions to provide greater focus on managing
risks to important biodiversity assets and ensure that the assessment and decision
making process is guided by risk and impact;
the Native Vegetation Credit Market Bill has established an evidence-based approach
that balances the economic and environmental considerations involved in the
productive use and development of land and protection of Victoria's native
vegetation, by creating a robust and transparent offset market. The Bill also provides a
complete legal framework for the establishment, trade and allocation of native
vegetation credits; and
a new apiculture (beekeeping) on public land policy was released to improve and
secure access to public land bee sites.
Our plans to meet the SOE improvement priorities
DEPI will meet your priorities for improvement through the plans outlined below.
Regulatory principles
In your SOE, you set out six principles to guide DEPI regulatory staff in their interactions with
the public. The following elaborates on what stakeholders can expect in these interactions.
Principle
What stakeholders can expect
Helpful
I can expect to receive appropriate and timely information, advice and
assistance to help me understand and meet my compliance obligations
Respectful
I can expect to be professionally and respectfully treated by DEPI
compliance staff at all times
Proportionate
I can expect my compliance experience to match the relative risk, impact
and intent of my behaviour
Predictable
I can expect to be able to anticipate my compliance experience based on
my behaviour and to be treated the same as any other regulated
individual or organisation for equivalent circumstances
Clear
I can expect to receive a clear explanation of a compliance decision
Transparent
I can expect to easily understand the way in which DEPI regulates both
industry and community members
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As you requested, LFE Regulators will work with other DEPI regulators to jointly develop a
standard for measuring DEPI’s performance against these expectations, and then report
against the standard in the timeframes listed below.
Relevant LFE
areas
Improvement strategy
Targets
All LFE
regulatory
areas
To work with other DEPI Regulators to jointly
develop a standard for measuring DEPI’s
performance in delivering the regulatory
principles and report against the standard
Participate in preparing
the standard, collect
and report on baseline
data by 1 July 2015 and
subsequent year’s data
by 1 July 2016
Role clarity
DEPI acknowledges your expectations below for clearer roles and responsibilities.
Relevant LFE
areas
Improvement strategies
Targets
Native
Regulatory areas will develop policy establishing a Updated policy
vegetation,
clear chain of accountability between all parties
documents by 1 July
Tour operators, involved in the regulatory regime
2015
Wildlife
Beekeeping,
Native
vegetation,
Timber
harvesting
Regulatory areas to review existing compliance
monitoring and assurance regimes to ensure that
regulatory objectives are being met
Complete reviews by
1 July 2016
To meet this, a number of LFE Regulators will adopt improvement strategies around
establishing clear chains of accountability, and/or conduct reviews of compliance monitoring
and assurance regimes within a certain time period. Specifically, LFE Regulators will adopt the
following strategies.
Native vegetation – LFE Regulators will update memorandums of understanding with local
government and public land managers to reflect changes in the native vegetation permitted
clearing regulations to ensure that they clearly define each party’s roles and responsibilities.
LFE Regulators will also review existing approaches to native vegetation permitted clearing
controls to establish a monitoring and reporting framework and to enable the effectiveness of
the new controls to be determined.
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LFE Tour Operators on Crown Land – Parks Victoria is not only responsible for managing the
majority of tour operator licences across Victoria, it also administers tour operating licensing
across the DEPI estate. LFE Group will clarify the roles and responsibilities between Parks
Victoria and DEPI by 1 July 2015.
Wildlife – LFE Regulators will develop both a policy summarising the respective roles and
responsibilities as well as a chain of accountability for wildlife regulation across DEPI by 1 July
2015.
Beekeeping – LFE Regulators will clarify responsibility for all regulatory functions including
management and administration of beekeeping on public land, biosecurity and apiculture
practices to ensure that activities across DEPI are appropriately integrated and coordinated,
and that regulatory objectives are achieved.
Timber harvesting – LFE Group will develop a risk-based compliance policy for timber
harvesting on public land and conduct a review of compliance monitoring regimes to ensure
regulatory objectives are being met.
Stakeholder consultation and engagement
In response to your expectations for stronger stakeholder relationships listed below, LFE
Regulators will develop a stakeholder consultation and engagement plan by 1 July 2016.
Strengthening these ties is one of the central pillars in LFE Regulators’ ability to communicate
constructively with its external stakeholders.
Relevant LFE
areas
Improvement strategy
Target
Beekeeping,
Wildlife
Strengthen stakeholder relationships with the
development of a stakeholder consultation and
engagement plan
Complete plans by
1 July 2016
To meet these expectations, we will adopt the following strategies.
Beekeeping – An LFE Regulator’s stakeholder consultation and engagement plan will guide
stakeholder relations during implementation of the new apiculture on public land policy and
ongoing beekeeping activities on public land. The plan will be aligned with biosecurity
regulation where appropriate.
Wildlife – LFE Regulators will prepare a plan detailing how it will engage and consult with its
key stakeholders for wildlife regulation, including the RSPCA, Victorian Farmers Federation,
landholders and animal welfare groups by 1 July 2016.
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Clear and consistent regulatory activities
We note your priorities for improving the clarity and efficiency of regulatory activities and
your expectations for LFE Group to strengthen its regulator/stakeholder relationships, as
below.
Relevant LFE
areas
Improvement strategy
Target
Timber
harvesting
Streamline and align the various regulations that
the timber industry is required to comply with to
provide a more linear framework that improves
clarity and efficiency
Publish revised Code of
Practice for Timber
Production as per
improvement strategy,
supported by a single
consolidated set of
operational
prescriptions by
30 December 2014
To deliver this, LFE Group will finalise the outcomes of the ongoing stakeholder consultation
process (as required under Part 5 of the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987) and
publish a revised Code of Practice for Timber Production containing a consolidated set of
operational prescriptions by 30 December 2014 (subject to Parliamentary endorsement). The
revised Code will improve the alignment of regulations and provide clarity for the timber
industry by clearly outlining the rules that must be followed when conducting harvesting
operations.
Risk-based strategies
As you requested, LFE Group will work closely with Regional Services Group and other DEPI
regulators in developing risk-based Compliance Strategies, as below.
Relevant LFE
areas
Improvement strategy
Targets
All LFE
regulatory
areas
LFE Group will develop Compliance Strategies,
which should include risk-based approaches
Complete Strategies by
1 July 2015
Regional Services Group will develop, use and
report against Regional Compliance Plans,
reflecting priorities identified in the Compliance
Strategies
Complete Plans and
start reporting against
them by 1 July 2015
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Accountability and transparency
Consistent with the accountability and transparency principles underpinning effective public
sector regulation, I confirm that DEPI will report on the achievement of these SOE
performance targets in its 2014-15 and 2015-16 annual reports.
Relevant LFE areas
Improvement strategy
Target
All LFE regulatory
areas
Publically report on all SOE regulatory
activities in DEPI’s annual report
Commence annual
reporting by 1 July 2015
Thank you again for your direction in the future governance and regulatory performance of
Victoria’s environment and climate change portfolio.
Yours sincerely
Paul Smith
Acting Secretary
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