Introduction
The Dams Safety Act 2015 (the Act) and the Dams Safety Regulation 2019 (the Regulation) commenced on 1 November 2019. The regulation sets out the operational details for the Act, and also safety standards with which declared dam owners must comply. The regulation and standards are legislative requirements and penalties apply to declared dam owners who do not comply with the requirements.
Amendments to the regulation were made in April 2020 to correct minor deficiencies and errors.
In August 2021, Dams Safety NSW (DSNSW) proposed additional amendments to the regulation with the aim of enhancing dam safety and the administration of the regulation.
This report summarises the submissions received by DSNSW in response to consultation on the proposed amendments conducted from 2 August 2021 to 17 September 2021. The aim of this summary is to communicate DSNSW’s understanding of the community response to the proposed amendments to the regulation.
The report provides:
- an overview of the proposed changes to the regulation
- the consultation process undertaken by DSNSW
- a summary of the comments received from the wider community, declared dam owners, and dam safety consultants
- the outcome resulting from the received comments – describes if/how the amendment proposal was changed in response to the consultation comments.
Overview of proposed changes
The proposed changes to the existing regulation were designed to allow Dams Safety NSW to administer the Act more efficiently and to strengthen dam safety management aspects of the regulation.
The proposed changes that were presented for consultation were:
- a declared dam owner will be required to provide the details of a contact person to Dams Safety NSW
- a declared dam owner will be required to nominate an individual for ensuring compliance with the dam safety management system
- a competent person will be required to carry out risk rating calculations (competency is currently not specified)
- for high and extreme consequence dams, an independent competent person will be required to review risk rating calculations (a review is currently not required)
- for high or extreme consequence category dams a panel of at least 3 competent persons will be required to:
- undertake safety reviews
- undertake a review of safety reviews
- check work involving dam designs
(currently a single competent person is specified for the above reviews and checks).
Consultation process
Declared dam owners and dam safety consultants were emailed at the end of July 2021, informing them of the proposed amendments to the regulation. The email included a summary of the proposed changes to the regulation, a ‘frequently asked questions’ document and a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed changes. The email also directed responses to the reform section of the Dams Safety NSW website and alerted respondents to upcoming industry consultation ‘virtual meetings’ so they could learn more about the proposed changes.
A reminder email was sent to declared dam owners and dam safety consultants on 16 August 2021.
Information on the location and time of the information sessions and information on how to make a submission on the proposed amendments to the regulation were uploaded to the Dams Safety NSW website. Stakeholders were able to send questions on the amendment proposals via email, provide email responses to the proposals, as well as providing written responses through the mail.
Information sessions were held on 18 and 25 August 2021, where the amendment proposals and the reasons for the proposals were presented, as well as answers to questions raised by the participants.
Approximately 60 and 40 people attended the sessions respectively. The sessions were recorded and uploaded to the DSNSW website.
Written comments were received during the public exhibition period from 2 August to 17 September 2021.
Analysis of submissions
Attendees at the two information sessions commented on the proposed amendments and suggested improvements in addition to asking questions to clarify the policy intent.
Stakeholders provided 9 written submissions during the public exhibition period of 2 August to 17 September 2021.
Submissions came from individuals, consultants, councils, consultants, and dam owners.
Dams Safety NSW staff reviewed every submission to ensure that respondents’ relevant and diverse points of view were considered. Those making submissions were acknowledged by email for their contribution.
Table 1 provides a summary of the issues and suggestions raised in the information sessions and written submissions, and the changes to the regulation amendment that resulted from the submissions.
Each respondent received an email acknowledging their submission and the submissions were logged and tracked to ensure none were missed.
Submission summary and changes resulting from consultation
How issues were considered
Dams Safety NSW reviewed submissions and determined if the issues raised necessitated changes to the proposed amendments to the regulation.
In considering each submission, Dams Safety NSW referred to the scope of the proposed regulation amendment, its intent to refine and strengthen dams safety in NSW, and the NSW Government’s ultimate aim that all risks arising from dams are acceptable to the community.
Table 1 summarises the responses to the proposed amendments and whether changes to the amendment proposal were made.
Table 1 Submission summary – issues/comments and outcome
| Proposed amendment | Issue/comments | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Proposed amendments for all declared dams | ||
| A declared dam owner will be required to provide the details of a contact person to Dams Safety NSW | Broad agreement with the proposal One query about ‘acting arrangements’ | No change to the proposed amendment |
| A declared dam owner will be required to nominate an individual for ensuring compliance with the dam safety management system | Broad agreement with the proposal. One query about ‘acting arrangements’; one query about whether a position could be nominated, rather than a person One submission disagreed with the proposal; ‘the organisation’ is responsible not an ‘individual officer’. | No change to the proposed amendment |
| A competent person will be required to carry out risk rating calculations (competency is currently not specified) | Broad agreement with the proposal One submission requested that the regulation allow the use of consultancy staff to carry out the calculation under the responsibility (or supervision) of a competent person | The amendment was altered to ensure that a competent person signs off on the calculation |
| Include ‘environment’ in the aims of the dam safety management system | Broad agreement with the proposal | No change to the proposed amendment |
| The lower safety threshold value for societal risk of 0.0001 will apply to a major augmentation, not all major modifications | Broad agreement with the proposal | No change to the proposed amendment |
| Proposed amendments for extreme and high consequence declared dams only | ||
| An independent competent person will be required to review risk rating calculations | Broad agreement with the proposal One submission suggested limiting the review to Extreme and High A consequence category dams | The amendment was altered to apply to Extreme, High A and High B consequence category dams only |
| A panel of at least 3 competent persons will be required to undertake safety reviews | Submissions suggested:
| The amendment was altered so that the requirement will apply to Extreme, High A and High B consequence category dams only and to reduce the minimum panel size to two competent persons – provided the panel covers all the required areas of expertise. |
| A panel of at least 3 competent persons to review work involving dam designs | Four attendees at the information sessions suggested insufficient numbers of competent persons for panels One submission suggested that dam owners across Australia are all trying to employ competent persons from a very small pool. It is difficult enough to get a competent person to work on a dam let alone a panel of competent persons One submission suggested that, with limited independent competent persons in the dams industry, consideration could be given to limiting this requirement to High A and extreme consequence category dams One submission suggested that the first competent group — if competent — should be correct, not requiring confirmation from a second set of competent engineers | The amendment was altered so that the requirement will apply to Extreme, High A and High B consequence category dams only and to reduce the minimum panel size to two competent persons – provided the panel covers all the required areas of expertise. |
Next steps
The amendments to the regulation come into force immediately on making of the amendment regulation - 1 July 2022.