About Us

The Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment is Dr Maxine Cooper. >>More about Commissioners for the Environment

Our charter—what we do

Our enabling legislation is the Commissioner for the Environment Act 1993. The Act specifies that we shall:

• produce State of the Environment reports for the ACT
• investigate complaints from the community regarding the management of the Territory’s environment by the ACT Government or its agencies
• conduct investigations directed by the Minister
• initiate investigations into actions of the ACT Government or its agencies, where those actions have a substantial adverse impact on the Territory’s environment
• make recommendations for consideration by the ACT Government, and include in our Annual Report the outcomes of those recommendations.

At the request of the local governments who are members of the Regional Leaders Forum, we also prepare State of the Environment reports for the Australian Capital Region, on a fee for service basis.

See The ACT legislation register (Commissioner for the Environment Act 1993) for a downloadable version (RTF format, 138 kB).

Our stakeholders

Our stakeholders are from the ACT Government and the community. The key stakeholders include:

1. Government

• the ACT Minister for the Environment
• the ACT Legislative Assembly
• all ACT Government agencies
• the ACT Government’s regional partners.

2. Community

• all residents in the ACT and beyond who have an interest in the health of the ACT’s environment and that in the surrounding region
• people with a grievance about the way the ACT Government or its agencies are managing the Territory’s environment, which has not been resolved through other channels.

Who we are

We are a small team. The Commissioner is supported by two permanent full-time officers, and a range of short-term paid and honorary expert assistants. The position of Commissioner is independent and part-time.

Our mission

To develop understanding of changes in the condition of the environment and the reasons for these, and to encourage all sectors of the community to progressively improve the environment, and so work towards sustainability.

Our vision

A society with the will to achieve a sustainable high quality environment for all. In working towards this vision, we recognise that:

• individual and government decision-making aimed at achieving sustainability must consider the costs and benefits for the natural, social and economic aspects of the environment
• our natural environment must be managed in an ecologically sustainable way for our society and economy to remain healthy.

Our values

The following values guide the way we interact with each other and with all our stakeholders:

• highest integrity
• ethical approach
• honesty
• respect (for different cultures, opinions and values)
• commitment
• trust and trustworthiness
• empathy, fairness and courtesy

Our operational principles

The following principles provide the basis for the way we do our work and to achieve professional excellence:

• be objective
• have transparent, inclusive processes
• seek to use the best available knowledge
• take a holistic view (across all aspects of the environment and across the whole of government)
• provide independent analysis and process, based on a cooperative approach
• give balanced consideration to social, economic and environmental values
• strive for continuous improvement
• do the best we can with the resources we have.

Key results areas

1. Statutory reports to ACT Government
2. State of the Environment Reports for Regional Leaders Forum
3. Community complaints
4. Advice on environmental matters
5. Our people and processes

 See the Corporate Plan for more information.