Local Government

Our Vision is to promote strong collaboration and facilitate improvements in Local Government involvement in the contaminated lands assessment and regulatory field.

We aim to do this by:

Communicating and engaging to convey council expectations to the wider industry, and aiming for continuous improvement to help us all get it right the first time;
Highlighting contaminated land and groundwater responsibilities through advocacy, communication, and education of relevant stakeholders;
Improving the knowledge of Local Government representatives through increased awareness of contaminated land and groundwater, and addressing the training needs of professionals in Local Government ; and,
Advocating for Suitably Qualified and experienced government professionals that can demonstrate contaminated land experience and capabilities to obtain Certification, including the Certified Environmental Practitioner (CEnvP) and Site Contamination Specialist Certification.

Works in the pipeline include:

Goal 1: Communications and Promotion
- Continue to connect a network of Local Government contaminated land and groundwater professionals who aim to share knowledge, expand our networks, and promote continuous improvement.
- Participate in Local Government and Regulatory Forums.
Goal 2: Resources and Tools
- Work with Others to improve guidance for management of contaminated land assets and issues that Local Government is responsible for; and
- Develop a tool kit of useful links and references.
Goal 3: Education and Training
- Evaluating the existing training courses available to Local Government professionals;
- Promoting existing contaminated land awareness, management, safety, and technical training courses for Local Government professionals;
- Explore options to address identified training gaps, and develop implementation strategies for prioritised training courses targeting Local Government professionals; and
- Training for council staff to develop their understanding and confidence in dealing with contaminated sites.
Goal 4: Advocacy
- Collaborate with external networks within Australia and New Zealand;
- Actively engage when feedback is required from a Local Government perspective, for example with State jurisdictions Environmental Regulators, Health Departments, Workplace Health & Safety Agencies, and at National levels with respective Ministries, etc.;
- Communicate Local Government needs to consultants to improve the quality of their reporting and outcomes for contaminated land projects; and
- Participate in the development of Guidance on best practice and current developments.

Current Committee Members:

Ana Serra	Chair
Andrew Rupolo
Anita Lewis
Anna Lundmark
Barton Bauzon
Bevan O’Reilly	Co-Chair
Clare Papaleo
Denise Read
Hannah Mirabueno
Jady Jakins
Jayden Pan
Judith Betts
Kate McCallum
Lucy Burt
Phillippa Biswell
Renelle Watson
Robin Klein
Scott Hardy
Ying (Eric) Lai