Compliance and enforcement

Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator is responsible for monitoring approximately 1,600 sites across Victoria to ensure compliance with the state’s mineral, extractives and energy resources legislation.

In order to ensure ongoing compliance, Earth Resources Regulator inspectors:

• provide educational material including guidelines and codes of practice
• conduct ad hoc and targeted inspections to assess processes and practices
• investigate compliances received by community and other stakeholders
• attend community reference group meetings
• enforce actions designed to compel compliance, including issuing directions and improvement notices, issuing infringement notices, and recommending matters for prosecution.

Compliance Priorities 2024-2025

In 2024-2025, the Earth Resources Regulator is refocusing its compliance priorities to ensure the community, infrastructure and environment are protected.

This approach will see a more targeted watch on mines and quarries to ensure tailings storage, over extraction and rehabilitation of sites are appropriately managed and impacts to community are heard and addressed.

Industry can expect a shift in the way compliance is achieved with targeted compliance inspections being conducted and notices being issued for non-compliance.

The Earth Resources Regulator is committed to addressing the concerns raised by the community and there will also be an increase in public communications regarding non-compliance.

These compliance priorities have been detailed in Resources Victoria Compliance Priorities 2024-2025.

Working with other regulators

We have agreements in place with other government agencies to:

• assist decision-making
• help the industry sectors get a better understanding of their obligations
• ensure that our decisions are transparent and consistent.

What an operator must do to comply

After an approval has been granted, an operator must keep us up-to-date with information on its activities. This includes:

• completing reports on time
• contacting us if issues arise or if guidance is needed
• managing risks
• paying attention to conditions.

We conduct inspections to make sure that operators are meeting the conditions on their approvals.

How we support compliance

We will conduct proactive activities to encourage compliance including:

• industry seminars and forums
• guidance materials
• community engagement activities.

We also publish case studies and materials on ‘how it should be done’ to assist compliance.

Enforcement

We use a range of methods to address non-compliance, from requiring the remedy of identified risks or breaches, through to financial penalties and prosecutions.

We will take enforcement action proportionate to the seriousness of the non-compliance.

In line with the Compliance Priorities for 2024-2025 the Earth Resources Regulator’s use of notices, enforcement and other regulatory actions are communicated publicly online.

By publishing the remedial (section 110) and stop work (section 110A) notices issued, infringements, enforceable undertakings, prosecutions and other key regulatory decisions for public viewing, mine and quarry operators are held accountable for non-compliance actions and operators have an added incentive to do the right thing.

Enforceable undertakings

An enforceable undertaking may be considered by the Minister if there are reasonable grounds to believe an authority holder has contravened or is likely to contravene the Act or regulations and in certain other circumstances.

Current enforceable undertakings are on our enforceable undertakings page.

Page last updated: 11 Jul 2024