Damien Gardiner

Practice Areas

Damien Gardiner focuses upon environmental, planning, native title and land acquisition work, but also has experience with complex occupational health and safety matters.

Damien's been advising on all aspects of environmental, planning and native title work, including major transport and mining infrastructure projects, transactional work, environmental, planning and native title due diligence, and general strategic advice. His clients come from a wide range of sectors, including energy and resources, water, mining, infrastructure, utilities, manufacturing, transport, local government, ports and airports.

Damien also has expertise in advising on the management of contaminated land, environmental impact assessment and liability for non-compliance with legislative requirements.

His native title practice focuses on significant native title matters, ranging from mining and infrastructure projects through to native title claims. In addition, Damien advises on the compulsory acquisition of land, telecommunications, mineral resources and development law and general commercial contracts.

Work Highlights

EnergyAustralia: Damien acted for EnergyAustralia in relation to the Gunai-Kurnai native title claim, which incorporated the Yallourn mine and power station site. Work on this matter included appearing in native title settlement mediations and negotiating amendments to the proposed native title consent determination on behalf of EnergyAustralia. Damien also advised more generally on the risks and issues from EnergyAustralia's perspective arising from the native title claim.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners: Advising on its partnership with Australia's Offshore Energy Ltd to develop the proposed "Star of the South" project. Also advised on tenure, planning, environmental and approvals issues during due diligence and advised on the Australian regulatory framework relevant to the Victorian and Australian electricity market.

Transgrid - Project EnergyConnect: Advising on all Victorian environmental, planning approval and land tenure requirements, being an interconnection from Buronga to the Red Cliffs terminal station (traversing the environmentally sensitive Kings Billabong Park). Damien also developed the native title strategy for the project alignment in NSW and Victoria, performing an extinguishment analysis of the project corridor and advising on future act notification requirements.

VicGrid: Providing ongoing advice to VicGrid on land access and tenure matters including for the scope of existing statutory powers and rights to enter and remain on land across different jurisdictions including in respect of easements for transmission projects and in relation to Crown land (both unalienated and reserved), national and State park land as well as plantation and forest areas. Also advising in relation to land tenure and approvals issues relevant to VNI West.

CityLink-Tulla Widening Project: Damien is acting for the Victorian Government in relation to all planning and environmental matters relevant to the project, advising on the planning assessment and approvals pathway, land acquisition, access and tenure, contamination and stakeholder management. Damien is the lead legal adviser in relation to the Ministerial planning scheme amendment being obtained for the project, land access, and planning and environmental issues more generally.

East-West Link: Damien advised the Linking Melbourne Authority on the planning and environmental impact assessment and approvals processes relevant to the proposed East-West Link project. He advised on planning and environmental impact assessment and approvals pathways, and land acquisition and tenure issues.

Peninsula Link: Damien acted for the Linking Melbourne Authority in relation to various issues arising under the permit issued to the Peninsula Link project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 relating to the management of the Southern Brown Bandicoot. Damien advised on amendments to the EPBC Act permit and ongoing liaison with the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and Victorian Government agencies.

nbn: Damien is acting for nbn relation to its statutory land access arrangements, and its land and facilities access arrangements under the Telecommunications Act 1997. This includes providing legal and strategic advice in relation to preferred land access arrangements in the context of complex deployment scenarios, and advising on contractual risk allocation relating to such issues. Damien also acted for nbn on numerous planning matters and tribunal appeals for wireless tower sites in Victoria and Tasmania, including providing strategic and litigation advice and appearing for nbn in relation to a contested planning matter in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Industry Sector Expertise

Climate Change and Sustainability

Environment and Sustainable Development

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Major Projects & Construction

Native Title

Regulatory Enforcements & Investigations

Renewables

Water