Elements and Performance Criteria

Codes of practice
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used
Environment
The environment comprises the surroundings in which an enterprise and/or industry operates, and may include:
air, water and land
natural and built resources
flora and fauna
humans and how they interrelate
Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements
Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include:
federal legislation, such as:
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Australian Heritage Council Act 2003
Native Title Act 1993
state/territory government legislation and regulations and local government by-laws, policies, and plans dealing with:
land use, acquisition, planning and protection
environmental protection
cultural/heritage protection
vegetation management
nature conservation and wildlife/plant protection
water and water management
soil conservation
pollution and contaminated sites
fisheries, forestry and mining operations
Australian and international standards, such as:
AS/NZS ISO 14000 Set:2005 Environmental management standards set
Australian Dangerous Goods Code ADG7
occupational health and safety (OHS) national standards and codes of practice
enterprise environmental management plans and procedures for specific sites and/or activities (e.g. sampling, monitoring, manufacturing, construction and mining)
Environmental management plans
Environmental management plans provide a framework for managing all environmental aspects, impacts, risks and obligations relevant to a site, project or significant work activity. Plans may include:
an aim, vision and enterprise policy statement
roles and responsibilities
potential environmental issues
actions to avoid, remedy and mitigate the issues
procedures and forms to minimise and manage specific environmental impacts and risks
quality management plans
communication and training requirements
monitoring, auditing and reporting requirements
Environmental issues
Environmental issues will vary with the scope and location of the enterprise’s work activities, and may include:
emissions to air
releases to, and of, water
releases to land
soil erosion, sedimentation and salinity
contamination of land
disturbance of flora and fauna, threats to sensitive species and destruction of habitat
introduction of pests, such as weeds and fire ants
noise and vibration
disturbance to heritage sites or items
generation, reuse and disposal of waste
use of energy sources
handling, storage, spills, or exposure involving hazards, such as chemicals and radiation
Environmental risks and impacts
Environmental risks and impacts comprise any potential (actual) adverse or beneficial change to the environment, whether direct or inferred, wholly or partially resulting from an enterprise’s activity, product or service. Risks and impacts may include:
mismanagement of chemicals or fuel products
mismanagement of biological agents
land use practices
planning deficiencies
poor construction processes
waste generation and disposal
Sites
Sites may include:
buildings and other infrastructure
construction, mining, manufacturing, forestry, agricultural and maintenance sites
bushland
catchments, flood plains, surface/groundwater sites and drainage sites
wetlands and marine/coastal areas
Environmental reporting requirements
Environmental reporting requirements may include providing contributions to:
regular site environmental reports
non-conformance report forms
hazard, near miss and safety incident report forms
environmental incident investigation report forms
regulatory agency reports
Environmental management documentation
Environmental management documentation may include:
site/project history, plans, procedures, actions and checklists
information about applicable legislation and regulatory requirements
records of correspondence and complaints
incident reports and incident investigation reports
quality assurance/verification checklists
job hazard analyses, permits and safe work procedures
internal check/audit reports
training records
records to comply with permit, licence and approval conditions
OHS and environmental management requirements
OHS and environmental management requirements:
all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time
all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied
where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health

Overview of assessment
Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:
assessing and explaining the environmental requirements relating to their work activities at sites
recognising and assessing hazards, risks, environmental issues and incidents relating to their work activities at sites using enterprise checklists
accurately recording and reporting details of hazards, risks, environmental issues and incidents
implementing specified environmental management plans, actions and procedures
contributing to continuous improvement of environmental procedures
completing relevant documentation clearly and accurately.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.
Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSS024000A and MSS025000A series of units
MSL environmental monitoring, sampling or testing series of units.
The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.
Resources may include:
site history
relevant enterprise environmental management policies, plans, actions, procedures and checklists
physical resources required for work activities, such as maps, laptop computer, digital camera, and monitoring and sampling equipment.
Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
feedback from peers and supervisors
oral or written questioning to check underpinning knowledge of environmental requirements for typical tasks
observation of candidate preparing for, and performing, a range of environmental/technical tasks
review of workplace documentation completed by the candidate.
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.
Guidance information for assessment