Western Australian Current Acts

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACT 2016 - SECT 49

49 .         Duty of certain people to report occurrence of threatened ecological community

        (1)         This section applies to a person who is carrying out field work for the purposes of —

            (a)         an assessment under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 Part IV; or

            (b)         complying with a requirement under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 section 51E(1)(d) in relation to an application for a clearing permit.

        (2)         If the person, in the course of carrying out the field work, finds an occurrence of an ecological community that is a threatened ecological community on land to which the work relates, the person must report its presence to the CEO.

        Penalty for this subsection: a fine of $50 000.

        (3)         A report under subsection (2) may be made orally or in writing.

        (4)         It is a defence to a charge of an offence under subsection (2) to prove that the person charged did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the occurrence found was an occurrence of a threatened ecological community.