Regulatory Frameworks for Environmental Management & Planning (ENVM3103)

Course overview

An introduction to the fundamentals of environmental and planning regulation in Australia and Queensland aimed at teaching essential knowledge and practical skills to environmental managers and planners. Topics covered include regulation of: planning and development; environmental protection and nature conservation; water and energy resources; as well as regulation of cross-cutting issues like climate change, mining, and coal seam gas. Professional skills taught include writing and assessing a development application, ethical obligations and duties in professional practice.

This course introduces 3rd year environmental management, planning, engineering and environmental science students to the framework of environmental and planning regulation in Australia and in Queensland. It focuses predominantly on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) and theﾠPlanning Act 2016 (Qld), but also considers regulation of key environmental concerns in Queensland, such as mining. It teaches professional skills through a practical assignment, which involves preparing a report on a development for assessment under the EPBC Act, in a multi-disciplinary group. Lectures and tutorials use a problem-based learning model. The goal of this approach is to understand how environmental regulation works in an engaging and practical way.

Course requirements

Assumed background

This course has been specifically designed to cater for 3rd year university students with no prior knowledge of law (i.e. non-lawyers). The background of students includes environmental management, planning students, and engineering (mostly environmental engineering majors), but also environmental science and occupational health and safety science.ﾠThe remainingﾠstudents come from a range of disciplines, including international students on exchange.ﾠThe make-up of the class informs the choice of course content and assessment, particularly the group assignment which is intended to allow multi-disciplinary teams to work together as occurs in actual professional practice.

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ENVM7123 (co-taught), ENVM2504, ENVM7101, ENVM7123, LAWS2960, LAWS3000, LAWS4101, LAWS7016, LAWS7018, PLAN3004

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Lecture recordings

Students can listen to all lectures in this course viaﾠrecordings on the course Blackboard site (Echo360), and lectures will also be streamed via Zoom where possible. Echo360 recordings will be available shortly after each lecture is given.

Practicals and forming groups

Practicals will be held in-person.ﾠPracticals start in week 2ﾠand continue for each week of the semester.

To reflect the reality of professional work, the groups for the group assignment are required to be multidisciplinary. Students can form or be assigned to groups based on the following principles:

1. Each group is required to be formed within the same practical (asﾠgroups need to be able to meet during practicals).
2. Each group would ideally contain one Regional and Town Planning (BRTP) student.
3. Each group would ideally contain no more than one member from any one discipline (e.g. Eng, EnvMan, EnvSc, BRTP, OHSS, etc)ﾠunless there are no students from other disciplines remaining in the practical.

Aims and outcomes

The course aims to teach 3rd year environmental management, planning and engineering students the fundamentals of environmental and planning regulation in Australia and Queensland relevant to professional practice.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Online Discussion Topics

• Online

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Reflection

Weight

15%

Due date

Topic 1: 13/03/2026 2:00 pm

Topic 2: 27/03/2026 2:00 pm

Topic 3: 17/04/2026 2:00 pm

Topic 4: 1/05/2026 2:00 pm

Topic 5: 15/05/2026 2:00 pm

Topic 6: 22/05/2026 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

Students are to submit discussion posts using Blackboard. Please refer to Blackboard announcement for details on how to complete this assessment.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Please note that extensions are not available for this assessment. This is an open channel for students to discuss topic(s) and submit their views of course content. Students are required to submit topic posts on or before the advised due date and time. If a post is not submitted by the due date and time, there will be no marks given. We will take the best FIVE out of the SIX quizzes to calculate your final grade for this assessment.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period).

Group Assessment EPBC Act Report

• Team or group-based

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

40%

Due date

8/05/2026 2:00 pm

Other conditions

Peer assessed.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Submission guidelines

The assignment should be submitted electronically (PDF or Word document). Please refer to Blackboard announcement for submission link. No hardcopy is to be submitted. The file name must be the number assigned to the group plus the surnames of each member of the group and the course code.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period).

Reflection

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Reflection

Weight

5%

Due date

29/05/2026 2:00 pm

Other conditions

Peer assessed.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Submission guidelines

Online submission by Turnitin only by the due date and time. Refer to Blackboard for the submission link. No hard copy or assignment cover sheets are required. Submission via email is not accepted.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period).

End of Semester Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

6/06/2026 - 20/06/2026

Other conditions

Time limited, Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Assessment Hurdles

In able to pass this course, you must obtain a mark of 45% or more in the End of Semester Exam. If you do not meet this requirement, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment.

Refer to the link above for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met. Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

Read the information contained in the following links carefully before submitting an application for extension to assessment due date.

For guidance on applying for an extension, information is available here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension

For the policy relating to extensions, information is available here (Part D): https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=184

Please note the University's requirements for medical certificates here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/uq-policies-and-rules/requirements-medical-certificates

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

All practicals are in a computer lab to allow internet access.

Adobe Acrobat Professional is installed on the computers in the computer labsﾠand will be used in producing a single, high-qualityﾠPDF document combining all maps, text and electronic forms and with all pages consecutively numbered for the Group Assignment. While this course is not about IT skills,ﾠthe ability to produce high-quality electronic documents is an essential skill for modern professionals in planning, environmental management and engineering consultancies.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
• AI for Assessment Guide
• Recording of Teaching Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.