PFAS management in Queensland

The Queensland Government developed the PFAS Interdepartmental Committee (PFAS IDC) to provide a centralised and coordinated response and approach to managing the emergence of PFAS contamination in Queensland. Read more detail about the Queensland Government’s management of PFAS.

A primary focus is managing contaminated sites that have historically used Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFFs). Queensland was the first state or territory in Australia to phase out the use of PFAS in firefighting foam. The Queensland Government continues to investigate health and environmental impacts of PFAS to assist in appropriately managing contaminated sites.

The Queensland Government is also focused on managing the potential impacts of PFAS on transitioning to a safe circular economy. For example, by setting PFAS limits on finished compost products across the state, as well as PFAS trigger levels for the use of biosolids.

As the environmental regulator, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation’s (the department’s) role is managing the potential risk of environmental harm occurring from PFAS contamination, specifically through the environmentally relevant activities (ERAs) regulated by the department and contaminated land provisions under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

Within the Queensland Government

The Queensland Government expects its agencies (such as government departments and statutory bodies) to meet the same high standards set for the private sector and Commonwealth bodies when it comes to the management of PFAS.

This includes meeting responsibilities and obligations to take proactive and precautionary action, commensurate with the level of identified potential exposures, to:

• phase out the use of PFAS chemicals
• ensure that current and previous workers are supported with appropriate testing and counselling
• investigate and minimise human and environmental exposure to PFAS chemicals.

The Queensland Government’s key principles in identifying and managing PFAS stocks and contamination at State-owned or controlled sites include:

1. Polluter pays principle: Those who hold stocks or produce PFAS pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment. This, together with the precautionary approach, is an underlying rationale for determining responsibilities and actions.
2. Precautionary approach: A lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation or mitigating risks. Additionally, a lack of certainty about who is responsible for PFAS contamination on, or sourced from, State-controlled sites should likewise not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation or mitigating risks.
3. Transparent and consultative: Investigations and management actions will be open and transparent; clear and timely information will be provided to potentially affected communities.
4. Collaborative: Entities responsible for stocks and sites will engage with State environmental and health regulators, the relevant interdepartmental committee and associated working groups—as well as any other relevant stakeholders—to seek guidance on investigations and management of risks.
5. Intergenerational equity: Queensland Government response actions will be effective and aimed at taking all reasonable actions to prevent and/or minimise adverse legacy issues being inherited by future generations.

The Queensland Government also expects and supports timely communications and community engagement, in locations where elevated PFAS levels are detected.

In general, the entity responsible for the pollution should lead community engagement, and appropriately and accurately advise the community about health and environmental risks.

Approaches to responding incidents and informing the community is based on the following Queensland Government PFAS exposure risks categories:

• Category 1 Priority – Detections exceed health criteria and there is a potential for human exposure through drinking water
• Category 1 – When a change of behaviour is required to reduce exposure based on real or potential health risks (detections exceed health criteria and there is a reasonable potential for human exposure)
• Category 2 – Detections are elevated but contamination is likely contained on site and there is not a reasonable potential for human exposure (no need to change behaviour).
• Category 3 – Detections do not exceed health criteria but there is a low potential for human exposure (no material risk)
• Category 4 – Detections do not exceed health criteria and there is no reasonable potential for human exposure (no demonstrated risk)

PFAS management resources and guidelines