Contamination risk management in property matters

Contamination is attracting a lot of attention in the media with discoveries of asbestos in mulch and other high-profile cases. It is incredibly relevant to property professionals given the potential for contamination risk to occur in urban and rural areas and across all property types (i.e. residential, commercial and industrial).

This webinar will explore the challenges of dealing with contamination risk in property and corporate transactions. It will provide an overview of practical steps and practice management considerations for dealing with contamination (or potential contamination) risk when acting for buyers and sellers, lenders, lessors and lessees.

The Environment Protection Act 2017 (VIC) came into force in July 2021. Three years since it commenced, much has changed in contamination law. There are new duties to manage contamination and notify of contamination, and a new suite of notices that can be issued by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria in relation to contaminated land. There are new registers that provide information about contamination matters and a large amount of data available about contamination in the state. 

It is critical to ensure that you understand the data available to you when advising clients. This includes both information presented to you and available to you in a due diligence process for a buyer and the information that you should disclose when acting for vendors and lessors. 

Key takeaways: