4.1
The PFAS Taskforce, which sits in the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), has coordination responsibilities between federal government departments, and across federal, state and territory governments on PFAS matters.
4.2
The Committee heard from the DAWE about the PFAS Taskforce in February 2020, evidence which is discussed in the Committee’s second progress report published in August 2020.
4.3
The Committee received a further update from the DAWE on 22 October 2021, evidence which is discussed in this chapter. Some of the key issues discussed with the DAWE about the PFAS Taskforce at the October 2021 public hearing included:
changes in the structure of the PFAS Taskforce over time,
the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP),
progress on ratification of the listings of PFAS under the Stockholm convention,
the PFAS Taskforce’s collaboration with state and territory governments,
the collaboration between federal government agencies on PFAS matters, and
the management of the pfas.gov.au website.
Role of the PFAS Taskforce
4.4
The DAWE stated that the PFAS Taskforce:
oversees implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Framework for Responding to PFAS Contamination,
runs the Commonwealth's PFAS Interdepartmental Committee, and
maintains the pfas.gov.au website.
4.5
The DAWE is the lead agency responsible for ‘developing the PFAS National Environment Management Plan’ (NEMP) and has a ‘role of providing external advice to support assessments under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act [1999] and the [Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981].’ Through these two responsibility areas, the DAWE ‘also provides guidance and advice to Commonwealth site owners and other responsible agencies on responding to PFAS contamination’.
4.6
The Australian Government response to the JSCFADT’s 2018 report noted that ‘much of the work of the PFAS Taskforce [is] behind-the-scenes’.
Current structure of the PFAS Taskforce
4.7
The PFAS Taskforce was established in December 2016 under the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and moved to the Department of Environment and Energy in April 2018. On 1 Feb 2020, the Taskforce was re-located to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, following changes to the structure of certain Government Departments. This change was discussed in the Committee’s second progress report.
4.8
The DAWE described that ‘the role of the taskforce has not changed significantly’ over time with functions still involving ‘whole-of-government coordination and information sharing.’ The DAWE also advised that the COVID-19 pandemic did not result in the PFAS Taskforce needing to reduce its functions.
4.9
The DAWE stated that it had three employees allocated to ‘the PFAS Taskforce itself.’ Ms Nicola Powell, Acting Assistant Secretary, DAWE further stated that the Department has a ‘significant body of chemical and other technical expertise’ and ‘it is particularly helpful to have the PFAS Taskforce located in the Environment Protection Division and in the Chemicals Management Branch’ as the Taskforce can ‘draw on that range of expertise across the branch and across the division.’
4.10
Ms Powell, advised that the previous iteration of the PFAS Taskforce at Prime Minister and Cabinet ‘was [a] significantly larger task force, as is generally the case with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It ranged between 10 to 18 staff at any given time.’
4.11
As discussed in the Committee’s second progress report, the DAWE advised that the ongoing nature of PFAS remediation had led to both the consolidation of expertise in the environment portfolio and its decentralisation across government agencies:
… If you go back to when the task force was established in [Prime Minister & Cabinet], not just Defence but the environment portfolio and the health portfolio all seconded one or two staff into a group, whereas now those functions have almost been normalised within each portfolio.
PFAS National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP)
4.12
As detailed in the previous two progress reports, the Committee heard about the Australian Government’s process for revising the PFAS National Environment Management Plan (NEMP). Version 2 of the PFAS NEMP published in May 2020. The DAWE advised that version 2 of ‘the PFAS NEMP includes some new guidance on reuse of soil, on PFAS in wastewater, and on storage, stockpiling and containment, as well as refinements to values for ecological [assessments]’.
4.13
The DAWE identified that the NEMP has led to greater consistency in PFAS responses, providing ‘consistent national diagnostic values for investigation across the country’ as an example. The DAWE stated that the NEMP ‘supports and contributes to [state and territory] regulatory and policy frameworks.’ The DAWE further stated that the NEMP is ‘implemented in each jurisdiction according to its own regulations’ so that it does not ‘override jurisdiction regulations’.
4.14
The DAWE stated that it had heard ‘from feedback from consultants, site owners and the public who have reached out to us’ that the NEMP is ‘used very actively.’ The DAWE also referred to downloads and page views of the document as an indicator that the document ‘seems to be very actively used and welcomed as bringing nationally consistent guidance and standards.’
4.15
The NEMP is viewed as a ‘continually evolving document’ by the DAWE, ‘reflecting the latest state of knowledge.’ The DAWE advised that ‘the PFAS NEMP version 3 is under development and is expected to be published for public consultation [in] mid [2022].’
Progress on international ratification
4.16
Coordination across the federal, state and territory governments was described as a precondition for Australia to ratify the listing of PFOS and PFOA chemicals under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. In addition to evidence provided at public hearings, the Australian Government response to the Committee’s second progress report detailed work to be undertaken on national chemical reforms encompassing PFAS.
4.17
The Committee was advised that ‘under Australia’s federated system of government, responsibility for regulation of industrial chemicals is shared across the Commonwealth, states and territories. There are multiple regulatory systems and a co-ordinated, collaborative approach is required to manage any given chemical.’
4.18
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand stated that ‘Australia has elected to be an ‘opt-in’ country to the Convention … Before ratifying a new listing, the Government considers the merits of ratification and ensures that measures are in place to allow Australia to meet any associated obligations.’
4.19
Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standards (IChEMS) legislation was passed by the Federal Parliament in March 2021. The DAWE advised that the Federal Government is ‘going to be in a much better position to be able to ratify those listings and any further listings of those kinds of PFAS under the Stockholm convention’ once the IChEMS legislation is implemented.
4.20
The DAWE described IChEMS as ‘a major step to improve the management of industrial chemicals in Australia’, including for PFAS:
Industrial chemicals such as PFAS will be scheduled in the IChEMS register according to their level of environmental risk, along with measures to manage those risks, which might include tighter restrictions or prohibitions, where warranted. This will provide a single source of information for chemical users, importers and manufacturers on how to manage risk to the environment.
4.21
The DAWE advised that that the next step is for the federal government, and each state and territory government to also implement the IChEMS legislation:
1
IChEMS legislation was passed by the Federal Parliament in March 2021. This establishes the ‘basis for Industrial Chemicals Environment Management Standard’;
2
implementation legislation needs to be passed by each state and territory government;
3
the Federal Government can then schedule PFAS and other chemicals on the IChEMS register;
4
this will enable a ‘nationally consistent way of managing the risks of the various types of PFAS of concern’;
5
once national consistency is obtained, Australia will be able to ‘meet the obligations of the Stockholm convention’; and
6
the Federal Government will then be in a position to proceed with ratification of the listings.
Collaboration with states and territories
4.22
PFAS management matters overlap between federal government (Commonwealth), and state and territory governments. Established in mid-2017, the State and Territory PFAS Forum meets quarterly. In addition to the PFAS Taskforce, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’, the State and Territory PFAS Forum has ‘representatives from all of the environment protection authorities across all of the states and territories, [and] representatives from the first minister's department of every state and territory.’
4.23
The DAWE stated that the PFAS Taskforce through the quarterly state and territory forum is ‘kept abreast of these new kinds of sites—contamination development’. The DAWE stated the ‘the main issues that are discussed [at the forum] are about:
whether there is an intersection between the Commonwealth and a state regulatory authority,
making sure that [forum members] understand who is responsible for what at a particular site,
[a heavy focus] on the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan and its implementation,
the progress underway on further developments on the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan, [and]
4.24
Ms Powell, Acting Assistant Secretary, DAWE stated that the purpose of the forum is ‘mainly information sharing’, elaborating:
It's about bringing those people together to share each other's experiences and learning and to understand the extent of the issues across each state and territory, including whether there are any significant issues emerging where there is a shared responsibility between the Commonwealth and the states and territories, in particular. It is largely informal discussion. If there are any significant issues arising, we manage that in a separate side discussion between the relevant agencies.
4.25
The PFAS Taskforce stated it is ‘interacting with states and territories on a really regular basis’ and accordingly does not ‘rely on that forum to hear about … contamination, [or] new sites coming up for investigation.’
Collaboration across the Commonwealth (Federal) Government
4.26
The PFAS Taskforce ‘runs the Commonwealth's PFAS Interdepartmental Committee’. The DAWE stated that updates on ‘all of the site investigations and management processes’ across the Australian Government are ‘received regularly to the interdepartmental committee.’
4.27
The DAWE clarified that the PFAS Taskforce does not ‘direct other Commonwealth agencies on how they go about their remediation activities.’ Instead, the DAWE stated that the PFAS Taskforce ‘simply oversee the implementation of the intergovernmental agreement on PFAS to ensure that those protocols and processes and principles are being followed.’
4.28
The PFAS Taskforce stated that it also monitors ‘developments in remediation research and to help agencies understand the current state of play’ and aims ‘to be a central repository of information about any developments in that area’. Ms Powell described that the Department of Defence had become the lead expert agency on remediation research in the Federal Government, stating:
Defence are leading the charge in that respect for the Commonwealth and are very up to speed with all of the latest remediation technologies and are trialling various technologies around the country.
Management of the pfas.gov.au website
4.29
In its second progress report, the Committee recommended that information for the community on the pfas.gov.au website be expanded. The DAWE acknowledged in October 2021 that ‘it is true’ that there has been no key information placed on the pfas.gov.au website for 500 days.
4.30
The Australian Government response to the Committee’s second progress report in January 2022 stated:
The pfas.gov.au website provides a general PFAS information portal for Australians and an avenue for enquiries about PFAS related issues. Relevant Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies’ websites link to pfas.gov.au as a central source of information on PFAS.
4.31
The DAWE stated that ‘the pfas.gov.au website is intended to provide core updates’, and can act as ‘the central information starting point for people’, or as ‘a directory … to refer people to other sources of government information.’ The DAWE advised that the PFAS Taskforce ‘tend[s] not to duplicate information but instead to refer people to the primary source of that information, so that it's always accurate and current.’
4.32
The DAWE advised that it ‘agree[d] with the committee's recommendation that [it] should provide important community support contacts in a central location on the PFAS website and include links to relevant reports such as this parliamentary inquiry and others.’ The DAWE stated it is ‘planning to include those updates as part of a current overall content edit.’
4.33
The DAWE stated that ‘it takes time to gather … information’ from other agencies, and further stated:
[The DAWE is] very reliant on other agencies from both the Commonwealth and the states and territories to provide us with that updated information and locations of websites where the best information can be found.
4.34
The Australian Government in its response to the Committee’s second progress report, received on 20 January 2022, stated that dedicated telephone lines are made available by the Department of Defence and Department of Health:
Dedicated PFAS information lines already exist to support enquiries on a range of PFAS related topics. The Department of Defence has dedicated telephone lines and email contacts for enquiries about each of its 28 PFAS site investigation and management areas. The Department of Health has a telephone information line and email contact for enquiries about PFAS exposure and potential health impacts.
The PFAS Taskforce will ensure that direct contact information to the range of available PFAS information and support services is captured in a central location on pfas.gov.au, for ease of reference. An overview of what these services offer will also be provided.
Concluding comment
4.35
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in its 2018 report called for appointment of a PFAS Coordinator-General with a key role of ‘working across portfolios, and with state, territory and local governments, to overcome barriers to cooperation, coordinate actions and to clearly communicate outcomes and advice to the public’ and to provide ‘a national point of contact and accountability for the Government’s response to the PFAS issue’.
4.36
In its response to the Committee’s 2018 report, the Australian Government noted this recommendation, stating that the ‘Australian Government believes that the substance of the Committee's recommendation is being, or can be delivered through existing structures and agreement’ and highlighted the PFAS Taskforce in this role, and as the manager of the upgraded PFAS website.
4.37
The Committee acknowledges the work of the PFAS Taskforce over the last two years in achieving consistency in areas of the PFAS response across Australian governments, in particular through the continuing revisions of the NEMP, and the establishment of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standards to progress towards international ratification of listing of PFAS under the Stockholm convention.
4.38
The Committee heard that the overlap between Commonwealth and state and territory governments on PFAS matters continues to managed through regular information sharing through the quarterly PFAS State and Territory Forum supported by the PFAS Taskforce.
4.39
In August 2020, the Committee noted that if the PFAS Taskforce is to be the face of the Government’s national PFAS effort, then the Committee considered it must have a dedicated interface on the PFAS website, with direct contact details, enhanced site interactivity and profiled consumer support information.
4.40
The Committee was concerned to observe in October 2021 that there have been no ‘core news updates’ for over 500 days on the pfas.gov.au website. The Committee acknowledges evidence from the DAWE that an ‘overall content edit’ to address this is in progress, and that the DAWE relies on information being received from other Federal government agencies.
4.41
The Committee considers that delays in the PFAS Taskforce receiving information from other agencies raises questions about the effectiveness of the Australian Government’s Interdepartmental Committee for sharing information across Federal government agencies.
4.42
The Committee considers that quarterly updates that summarise the work of the Australian Government on PFAS remediation issues would be useful in ensuring that the pfas.gov.au website remains the central source of information on PFAS. Quarterly updates should assist in providing community members confidence that active progress is being undertaken on PFAS issues, and avoid the impression that the Australian Government has been inactive on PFAS management issues.
4.43
The Committee was concerned to learn that PFAS Taskforce has been reduced to three full-time staff. The Committee acknowledges evidence that the PFAS Taskforce draws on resources from the broader Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
4.44
The Committee questions whether this is a sufficient level of resourcing for the PFAS Taskforce to undertake its role as the first contact and information point for residents in communities experiencing PFAS contamination, on top of its existing workload of managing revisions to NEMP, progressing IChEMS and managing interdepartmental and intergovernmental forums.
4.45
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government produce and publish quarterly updates on the work of Department of Defence, Department of Health and Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on PFAS management issues, on the pfas.gov.au website.
4.46
These updates should detail work completed and new information made available within their respective portfolios in that quarter.
4.47
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to produce regular updates on PFAS management issues for publication on the pfas.gov.au website.