Version 2 of the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan (PFAS NEMP 2.0) has now been published. The updated PFAS NEMP is available at the website of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment here: https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/chemicals-management/pfas.
All states, territories and the Australian Government have collaborated to develop version 2.0 of the PFAS NEMP, which was agreed by Heads of EPAs in October 2019. The document has incorporated feedback from the public consultations held in early-to-mid 2019 on the draft PFAS NEMP 2.0. The PFAS NEMP 2.0 continues to provide a consistent, practical, risk-based framework for the environmental regulation of PFAS-contaminated materials and sites, and is intended to be the primary source of specific guidance for the assessment and management of sites impacted with PFAS.
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has also released a revised Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Framework for Responding to PFAS Contamination (the PFAS IGA). The revisions to the Agreement and its Appendices A and C, which came into effect on 7 February 2020, support strengthened collaboration and cooperation between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories to respond consistently and effectively to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. A newly included National PFAS Position Statement (Appendix D) sets out a shared vision of governments to reduce future releases of PFAS into the environment. The revised PFAS IGA is available at the COAG website here: https://www.coag.gov.au/about-coag/agreements/intergovernmental-agreement-national-framework-responding-pfas-07feb20