Eagleby company and director fined in one of Queensland’s worst cases of asbestos offences
The Beenleigh Magistrates Court has handed down a sentence for one of Queensland’s worst-ever illegal asbestos waste matters, following an extensive investigation by Queensland’s environmental regulator, the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI)
Asbestos Demolition Specialists Pty Ltd has been fined $400,000, and the company’s director has received a $100,000 fine and a suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a number of offences relating to the illegal operation of a waste facility in Eagleby.
The asbestos removal and demolition company pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 including:
- two offences for carrying out an environmentally relevant activity without an environmental authority,
- five offences for wilfully contravening an environmental protection order (EPO),
- one offence for wilfully and unlawfully depositing a prescribed water contaminant, and
- one offence for wilfully and unlawfully causing material harm.
In addition to the $400,000 fine, the company has been ordered to pay a monetary benefit order of $75,544, representing the licence fees for the activity. The company and its director were issued with a rehabilitation order to restore the impacted land.
The company’s director pleaded guilty to failing to ensure his company complied with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act. He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to nine months imprisonment wholly suspended for three years.
The Court recorded convictions against both defendants and ordered they pay $12,645 each in legal and investigation costs.
During sentencing, the Court found the offending activities were deliberate and extensive, and noted it was one of Queensland’s largest criminal asbestos waste matters.
DETSI began investigating the site in 2020 after officers conducted a series of site inspections and observed large amounts of illegally disposed construction waste, including asbestos.
Due to the site’s location on the banks of the Albert River and other nearby water bodies, and its proximity to residential properties, the site was not licenced to receive any waste including asbestos-contaminated waste.
In June 2020, DETSI issued the company with a Direction Notice which required it to immediately stop receiving and disposing of waste at the site, and to remove any onsite waste. In July 2021, DETSI issued the company with a penalty infringement notice for failing to comply with the Direction Notice, and an EPO.
More information can be found via the DETSI website.
This article was originally published in the December 2024 Environmental Regulatory Updates newsletter from the Department of the Environment,Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) Queensland.
