Corporate reporting
The following tables provide EPA information to meet South Australian Government corporate reporting requirements.
Freedom of information and Public Register
During 2013–14, 45 freedom of information applications and 335 Public Register requests were received (Table 33). The EPA also has a statutory obligation under the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 to provide information relating to environment protection (Table 34).
Table 33—Freedom of Information applications and Public Register requests
| Applications | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 |
| Freedom of information | 40 | 37 | 45 | 19 |
| Public Register | 233 | 252 | 335 | 409 |
Table 34—Section 7 enquiries/responses
| Section 7 enquiries/responses | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 |
| Automatic enquiries to the Lands Titles Office database involving the perusal of the Section 7 information maintained by the EPA | 47 599 | 41 209 | 42 222 | 44 785 |
| Manual enquiries requiring an EPA search made upon requests by the Lands Titles Office | 4 825 | 3 993 | 4 253 | 4 263 |
Direction by the minister
According to section 111(2) of the EP Act, the minister to whom the EP Act is committed has given no direction to the EPA during 201314.
Whistleblowers Protection Act
The Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 (WP Act) encourages disclosure of maladministration and waste in the public sector and corrupt or illegal conduct generally, by providing the means by which disclosures may be made and subsequent protection (from victimisation and civil or criminal liability) for those who make disclosures.
The EPA has appointed three responsible officers for the purposes of the WP Act pursuant to section 7 of the Public Sector Act 2009. The EPA’s responsible officers were reviewed and appointed in July 2012 and received whistleblowers coaching provided by an external training provider.
The WP Act requires the EPA to report on the number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency. There were no disclosures to an EPA responsible officer during 2013–14.
Fraud
There have been no instances of fraud determined within the current financial year.
Overseas travel
Table 35—Overseas travel
| Number of employees | Destination/s | Reason for travel | Total cost to agency |
| 1 | Scotland | As per employment and supplementary agreements with government | $30 000 |
| 3 | China | Viewing of technology and process options that could assist with the transformation of the Nystar Port Pirie Smelter | $26 500 |
Disability access and inclusion
The Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) strategy demonstrates the South Australian Government’s commitment to improving the participation of people with disability across a range of areas so they can enjoy the rights and opportunities provided to all citizens to reach their full potential.
In March 2012, the South Australian Government endorsed the introduction of DAIPs across government in accordance with Recommendation 6 of the report Strong voices: A blueprint to enhance life and claim the rights of people with disability in South Australia (2012–2020).
The EPA is currently developing a draft DAIP plan in line with the South Australian Government requirements, and endorsed a tool kit to address the government’s six key outcomes and better define and outline the EPA’s commitment to supporting the rights of people in the community, and EPA staff, who have disabilities. A consultative work group will be convened to provide feedback and input into the EPA’s DAIP plan.
Asbestos management in government buildings
The EPA is required to provide information for an annual acrossgovernment report on asbestos management in government buildings to be compiled by DPTI. The EPA does not currently own any premises. All premises occupied by the EPA are currently leased through DPTI and, as a result, the EPA is not responsible for maintaining an asbestos register.
Government buildings energy management
The EPA is required to report its performance against South Australia’s Strategic Plan Target 61: Energy efficiency—Government Buildings, and key aspects of the Government Buildings Energy Strategy.
Table 36—Performance against annual energy use targets, EPA office location
| Energy use (GJ) | Business measure (m2) | Energy use per (m2) | |
| Base year 2000–01 | 1 844 | 5,277 | 0.35 |
| MJ per m2 | - | - | 348.00 |
| 2001—02 | 1 647 | 5,277 | 0.31 |
| 2013—14 | 874 | 5,173 | 0.17 |
| Target (2020) | 1 383 | - | 0.26 |
Significant energy management achievements
The rationalisation of EPA accommodation, the main source of energy consumption, was finalised in October 2009 with the completion of the radiation laboratory fit-out in leased premises within the city. The centralisation of staff into 250 Victoria Square, a six-star building with a 5-star fit-out, resulted in a marked reduction in energy consumed for office accommodation, which has since been maintained.
Other achievements against the Government Buildings Energy Strategy
One of the EPA’s environmental goals is for ‘the sustainable use of resources reducing costs to business and environmental impacts by promoting the efficient use of resources and waste minimisation’. In support of this concept within the office environment at 250 Victoria Square, all waste management and recycling is managed in partnership with the lessor’s building management. Containers for all waste are provided within utility rooms and kitchens, and are collected regularly by cleaning staff, with quantities and contents recycled recorded where possible. Streams of waste collected include:
- co-mingled recyclable waste
- organic food waste
- white paper and confidential paper destruction
- general dry waste
- batteries.
Toner cartridges from photocopying machines and printers, and light bulbs and tubes are also collected and recycled. As a means of encouraging staff to consider recycling and appropriate disposal of waste, only paper recycling bins are provided at work stations.
Greening of government operations (Sustainability@Work)
The EPA continues to demonstrate a leadership role in bestpractice environmentally sustainable behaviour in the workplace to other businesses and communities in the state.
The EPA’s internal program, Sustainability@Work (S@W), has been running for five years with the commitment of volunteers who explore options on behalf of staff to reduce their environmental footprint through identifying, implementing and reviewing practices to ensure sustainable workplace culture in the EPA.
Key achievements for 2013–14 include:
- World Environment Day 2014 celebration with the launch of the EPA herb garden and sustainability fare, and almost $200 raised from the sale of home produce. The message of the day was ‘everyone everywhere can be climate champions’.
- Plastic Free July aimed at raising awareness of the amount of plastic used in day-to-day life and encouraging people to eliminate wastage of single-use plastic.
- Green travel promoted through registration and participation in the Adelaide Carpool, a free online service to encourage shared private vehicle travel and reduce the carbon footprint of travelling to and from work.
- Rechargeable battery initiative, which is growing each year with staff reducing their use of nonrechargeable batteries. Nonrechargeable batteries are collected, and 39 kilograms of these were recycled in the past year.
- Funds raised for Freedom Hill Sanctuary as part of World Animal Day on 4 October 2013.
- Breakfast for National Walk to Work Day on 8 November 2013 and tips for being more active and reducing the carbon footprint from EPA commuter travel.
- Launch of Ice Shelf in December 2013 for the exchange of useful materials and stocked with reusable items to share, such as shopping bags, books and magazines, excess homegrown produce and fairtrade products.
- Annual Sustainability@Work Tour Down Under breakfast held on 22 January 2014, in support of the EPA BUPA Challenge Tour team and to promote recreational and commuter cycling.
- Continuation of the container deposit collection scheme with around 5 000 bottles and cans recycled this year and monies donated to environmental programs throughout South Australia.