The Environmental Defender’s Office of Western Australia (EDOWA) is a not-for-profit and non-government organisation that specialises in public interest environmental law.
We offer legal services which aim to benefit the community. Legal Services to protect the Environment:
– Legal Advice: EDOWA provides legal advice on matters of public interest environmental law. Please refer to our factsheets for a basic guide to environment law.
– Legal Education: In addition to providing legal advice and litigation in public interest environmental matters, EDOWA also conducts community legal education workshops and presentations.
– Policy & Law Reform: We actively engage in environmental policy and law reform in WA and across Australia. (sourced 9/1/2022 from Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20191005204458/http://www.edowa.org.au/services/)
History
The Western Australian EDO is part of a national network of EDOs servicing each Australian State and Territory. Australia’s first EDO was established in New South Wales in 1986. In the early 1990s EDOs were established in Victoria and Queensland. A group of concerned lawyers joined forces with the Conservation Council of Western Australia Inc to form the Western Australian EDO in late 1995. Funding was obtained from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, and the EDO commenced full time operation in March 1996. The first employees of the EDO were a full-time solicitor (Michael Bennett) and part-time Coordinator (Margaret Robertson). The first Convenor of the EDO was Justice Michael Barker, President of the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia. Like EDOs in other States, the Western Australian EDO operates independently from government. For more information on our activities, view our Annual Reports or browse our newsletters.
Highlights
With the help of our members, donors and volunteers, the EDO has been able to argue a number of important environmental issues before the courts. Here are just some of the highlights of cases the EDO has been involved with:
1997 – Community objections to mining activities permitted
1997 – CALM not bound by fauna protection laws or forest management plans1
998 – Environmental objections can be made to mining activities
1998 – Forest protester conviction overturned
1999 – Brickworks banned
2001 – Minister for Mines wrong in not referring mining proposal to EPA
2001 – Documents on land clearing released under Freedom on Information
2002 – Unlawful coastal subdivision.