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Environmental auditing as a regulatory strategy for the sale of contaminated land in Australia

Author
Wilcher R.
Journal/Series
Environmental and Planning Law Journal | Vol. 14(3); 181 - 193; 13 p.
Date
1997
Source
IUCN (ID: ANA-060951)
Publisher | Place of publication
The Law Book Company Ltd. | North Ryde, Australia
Language
English
Country/Territory
Australia
Subject
Land & soil
Keyword
Soil pollution/quality Environmental audit Liability/compensation
Abstract

The prevailing regulatory approach to contaminated land law in Australia motivated a company selling land to transfer all risk associated with contamination to the purchaser. Despite proposals for reform in many Stated, the ideal of 'polluter pays' has been replaced by 'purchaser pays' as a purchaser will often be ignorant of the contamination status of the land it is buying. Because the traditional conveyancing concepts of defects in title and statutory disclosures have provided inadequate protection, purchasers have demanded informationn about contamination under fair trading legislation. This has led to the development of environmental auditing as a market tool so that vendors' silence about contamination is no longer advisory. The article discusses the scope of contaminated land law in Australia, the conveyancing principles and fair trading law underlying the disclosure of information about contamination and the scope of an environmental audit in the sale of contaminated land,