(1)  The Director or, in the case of an environment protection notice served by a council officer, the council may take any action required by an environment protection notice if the requirements of the notice are not complied with within –

(a) the period specified in the notice under section 44(3)(d)(iii) ; or

(b) if a period is not so specified in the notice, a reasonable time.

(1A)  In determining what is a reasonable time for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) , regard must be had to –

(a) the seriousness of the environmental harm that has occurred or is likely to occur as a result of the act or omission which is the subject of the environment protection notice; and

(b) the type of measures the environment protection notice requires the person on whom it is served to undertake to prevent, control, reduce or remediate that environmental harm and the degree of difficulty that person is likely to have in undertaking and completing those measures.

(2)  Any action to be taken under subsection (1) may be taken –

(a) on the Director's behalf, by authorized officers; and

(b) on the council's behalf, by council officers.

(3)  The reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Director or a council in taking action under this section may be recovered by the Director or the council as a debt from the person who failed to comply with the requirements of the environment protection notice.

(4)  Where an amount is recoverable from a person under this section, the Director or the council may, by notice in writing to the person, fix a period, being not less than 28 days from the date of the notice, within which the amount must be paid by the person.

(5)  If the amount is not paid by the person within the period fixed, the person is liable to pay interest charged at the prescribed rate on the amount unpaid.

(6)  The amount recoverable together with any interest charge payable is, until paid, a charge in favour of the Director or the council on any land owned by the person in relation to which the environment protection notice is registered under this Division.

(7)  Subject to section 119 of the Local Government Act 1993 , a charge imposed on land by this section has priority over –

(a) any prior charge on the land (whether or not registered) that operates in favour of a person who is an associate of the owner of the land; and

(b) any other charge on the land other than a charge registered before registration of the environment protection notice in relation to the land.

(8)  For the purposes of this Act, a person is an associate of another if –

(a) they are partners; or

(b) one is a spouse, parent or child of another or in a personal relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003 , with the other; or

(c) they are both trustees or beneficiaries of the same trust, or one is a trustee and the other is a beneficiary of the same trust; or

(d) one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate or other entity; or

(e) one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a person who has a legal or equitable interest in 5% or more of the share capital of the body corporate or other entity; or

(f) they are related bodies corporate; or

(g) a relationship of a prescribed kind exists between them; or

(h) a chain of relationships can be traced between them under any one or more of the above paragraphs.

(9)  For the purposes of subsection (8) , a beneficiary of a trust includes an object of a discretionary trust.