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1.2 How can I find environmental laws?

Sources of law

The two sources of law in Australia are legislation and common law (judge-made law).

Legislation

Legislation is the main source of environmental law in Australia. Legislation (also called statute law) refers to the Acts and regulations which are made by State or Federal Parliaments.

Legislation sets out the powers and processes by which ministers, government departments and local councils must make decisions about the environment. Legislation also sets out the enforcement powers and penalties for breaching environmental laws.

Legislation can empower other public authorities to prepare plans and policies about the environment, eg. enabling local councils to prepare local environmental plans (LEPs).

Click here to access NSW legislation as well as all State, Regional and Local Environmental Plans in NSW (see under EPIs - Environmental Planning Instruments)

Click here to access Federal legislation on the ComLaw website

Strictly speaking, international environmental treaties and conventions are not a source of environmental law in Australia unless they have been recognised through domestic legislation. To find out more about international environmental law as a source of law, see Fact Sheet 3.3.

Click here to find the text of international treaties and conventions

Common law

The common law is also part of environmental law. Common law is law made by the courts. It is sometimes called judge-made law, or case law.

Under our common law system, the role of the courts is to:

• settle disputes about what legislation means in practice by interpreting the legislation, and
• determine whether there has been a breach of the law and, if so, to decide on the appropriate penalty or remedy.

The decision of a court (a judgment) can form a precedent which other courts at the same or lower level in later cases are bound to follow.

Click here to access NSW Land and Environment Court judgments

Click here to access Federal Court, Federal Magistrates Court, and High Court judgments

Working out what the relevant environmental law is for a particular problem can be complicated. It may involve a two-step process of identifying the correct piece of legislation, and then finding out how the courts have applied that legislation.