Commencement from 15 November 2010

Penalty and enforcement provisions are necessary to encourage compliance with the Mining Act 1992. The amendments strengthen and clarify the Government’s powers relating to enforcement and prosecution of breaches of the Mining Act 1992. The changes to the enforcement provisions aim to bring the Mining Act 1992 in to line with other New South Wales environmental legislation, particularly the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Offence and penalty provisions for breaches of the Act have been strengthened and include:

• expanded powers under section 240, in particular to direct title holders to:
  • address any adverse impact on the environment
  • conserve the environment (protection from harm); and,
  • rehabilitate land or water affected by exploration and mining activities
• the ability to stop particular activities being carried out or suspend operations if there has been a contravention of a condition or direction
• penalty provisions for breaches of a direction
• increased powers for inspectors including powers of entry and search
• a more comprehensive range of offences for which penalty infringement notices can be issued.

Accountability for breaches of title conditions have also been amended with the titleholder now liable for any breach. There are also increased liabilities for directors and managers of a corporation which holds an authorisation (refer to Section 378F of the Mining Act 1992).

See Mining Regulation 2010 for more information.