M: +61 414 942 276
T: +61 7 3233 8573
E: madelinesimpson@mccullough.com.au

Recognised for Environment and Planning
Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific

Madeline is a leading Queensland environmental lawyer with more than 25 years experience.

Achieving practical and commercial outcomes for her clients, Madeline is an expert in managing risks associated with environmental issues, environmental and climate law reform, energy transition and the Commonwealth Government’s Nature Positive commitment.

Madeline acts for clients across a broad range of sectors including resources, renewable energy, major projects, infrastructure, property development, water, transport, government, the industrial sector and insolvency practitioners appointed to companies carrying significant environmental risk.

She provides strategic advice in relation to planning and environmental approvals pathways, environmental impact assessment, biodiversity and carbon offsets, environmental compliance, enforcement and incident response, environmental liability risk transfer, contaminated land including emerging contaminants such as PFAS, carbon projects such as carbon capture and storage and regeneration, climate change risk, ESG and cultural heritage obligations.

She has extensive experience in Land Court proceedings, defending environmental prosecutions and Planning and Environment Court proceedings. She practised in commercial litigation for more than 8 years before specialising in Planning and Environment law.

Madeline in actively involved in the industry, including as a board member of the National Environmental Law Association (NELA), a member of the Australian Environment Review Editorial Committee, and a member of the Queensland Resources Council Environment Committee.

Read Madeline’s latest publications:

 From clean-up to compliance – new amendments to the contaminated land provisions

  Introducing the Environmental Enforcement Order: A new compliance tool

  Changes to the forced EA amendment process

  Environmental protections strengthened with new Powers and Penalties Bill

Experience

Due diligence and transaction documents

Advising on environmental and planning aspects of asset/share sale M&A transactions including approvals and development constraints, vegetation, land contamination, heritage offsets and environmental liability risk transfer.

Major project delivery

Advising on approvals strategies, environmental impact assessment and securing offsets to facilitate the delivery of major projects, including resources, energy, water, road and rail projects.

Carbon and energy transition projects

Securing and advising on approvals for carbon projects under the Commonwealth carbon legislation and advising on carbon offsets, together with State legislation.

Compliance and incident management

Advising clients on incident response, compliance risk, notification requirements and responding to regulatory investigations across numerous sectors including mining and resources, energy and waste.

Climate change risk and ESG

Advising various clients on climate change risk and ESG risk management.

Contaminated land

Advising clients across a broad range of sectors on managing contaminated land risk, including in relation to emerging contaminants such as PFAS, liability allocation and transfer, and removal of contaminated sites from the State registers.

Regulatory enforcement

Acting for global and national clients in the mining and energy sectors in relation to enforcement action taken by the environmental regulator including defending statutory notices, civil proceedings and prosecutions.

Mining and resources

Advising numerous mining and resources clients on approvals strategies for greenfield projects and expansions, including Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), stakeholder management, offsets, incident management, regulatory compliance, financial assurance, rehabilitation and Progressive rehabilitation and closure plans (PRCPs), surrender and mine closure planning.