Australian Petroleum Pty Limited v Environment Protection Authority

Australian Petroleum Pty Limited (APPL) sought judicial review of a decision by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to refuse its application for a licence to operate a petroleum exploration and production facility. The dispute concerned the EPA's assessment of APPL's environmental impact statement (EIS) and its subsequent refusal to grant the licence. The matter was heard by the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the EPA had acted lawfully in refusing the licence. Specifically, the court considered whether the EPA had properly considered the EIS provided by APPL, whether it had afforded APPL procedural fairness, and whether its decision was affected by an error of law, such as taking into account irrelevant considerations or failing to take into account relevant ones.

The court reasoned that the EPA's statutory duty to consider the EIS did not require it to accept the EIS's conclusions at face value. The EPA was entitled to form its own assessment of the environmental risks and to refuse the licence if it was not satisfied that those risks were adequately managed. Furthermore, the court found that APPL had been afforded procedural fairness, as it had been given an opportunity to make submissions and respond to the EPA's concerns. The EPA's decision was ultimately upheld.