NEWS
News and Articles from Helia EHS
Welcome to the NEWS and ARTICLES section of Helia EHS, Australia’s leading environmental and safety consultants. At Helia EHS, we are dedicated to providing cutting-edge environmental solutions, sustainability consulting, and comprehensive environmental health and safety services. Our team of experienced environmental consultants is committed to helping individuals, businesses and organisations navigate the complexities of environmental and safety compliance. Whether you’re seeking advice on environmental impact assessments, sustainability strategies, or EHS management systems, Helia EHS has the experience and the expertise to assist you.
Read the latest trends, research, and innovations in environmental health and safety here. From detailed analyses of Australia’s environmental policies to practical tips for achieving sustainability and safety in the workplace, our articles are designed to inform and educate. Helia EHS is at the forefront of integrating environmental stewardship into business practices, ensuring that our clients not only comply with regulations but also lead the way in sustainable operations.
Data Centre Noise Assessment: The Complaint That Stalls Your Planning Approval
Residents rarely complain about how a data centre looks; they complain about the hum, that low and steady drone of cooling plant at three in the morning. It never stops, because the facility never stops, and that sound has become one of the biggest approval risks facing data centre developers in Australia. Most project teams discover it far too late, long after the design has been locked in. We’ve watched this pattern repeat across industrial
Contaminated Land Assessment: Do You Legally Need One Before You Build?
Few things stall a build faster than a contamination query. You have plans, finance and a timeline. Then a permit condition lands, asking whether the soil beneath your site has been assessed. So when is a contaminated land assessment actually required? The short answer surprises most property owners: more often than they expect. What a contaminated land assessment actually is A contaminated land assessment is a structured investigation into whether a site’s condition poses a
How to Identify Asbestos in Australia?
Asbestos remains one of the most commonly encountered hazardous materials in Australian buildings. Despite being banned, asbestos-containing materials are still present in many homes, workplaces, and industrial facilities constructed or renovated before 1990. The challenge is that asbestos-containing materials often look like ordinary building products. You cannot reliably identify asbestos by sight, colour, or smell. The only way to confirm whether a material contains asbestos is through professional assessment and laboratory testing. This guide explores
How Environmental Compliance Audits Protect Councils from Regulatory Risk
Local councils sit in an unusual position when it comes to environmental regulation. They are landowners, planning authorities, infrastructure managers and service providers all at once, and each of those roles carries its own set of environmental obligations. An environmental compliance audit is one of the most practical ways for a council to understand where its risks actually sit, before EPA, a ratepayer or a third party finds them first. This article walks through what
Silica Dust in Construction: New Regulations and What They Mean for Your Worksite
Silica Dust Is Now a Major Compliance Issue in Australian Construction Silica dust is now one of the most regulated occupational health hazards in Australian construction. Recent changes to workplace exposure standards and the high-profile ban on engineered stone have put the issue firmly in focus, but the obligations extend well beyond stonemasons and kitchen benchtops. If your project involves concrete cutting, drilling, grinding, or demolition, silica dust monitoring is likely to be a legal
Why Environmental Due Diligence Matters More in Data Centres Than Almost Any Other Asset Class
Data centres are often perceived as clean, modern, purpose-built facilities. In reality, their environmental risk profile is far more complex than it appears. Many new facilities are developed on former industrial or logistics land selected for power availability, zoning and scale. That history matters. In data centre projects, environmental risk rarely sits in plain sight. It often exists below ground, within legacy infrastructure, or embedded in critical building systems. Key considerations include: Contaminated land and
Top 5 Compliance Risks for Construction in 2025
We’re stepping into a year where environmental compliance is more than a checklist—it’s the difference between smooth delivery and a project stuck in neutral. On construction sites across Australia, regulators expect tighter controls, better data, and visible evidence that environmental risks are being managed in real time. We see the shift daily: what used to be “good practice” is now the baseline. To help teams stay sharp, we’ve distilled the top five risks shaping construction
The Environmental Breakthroughs Powering New Epping’s Regeneration
Urban landscapes across Australia face mounting pressure to deliver sustainable, resilient spaces. As land scarcity intensifies and communities demand more integrated living and working environments, the focus has shifted toward urban regeneration projects—particularly those involving brownfield redevelopment. Nowhere is this transformation more evident than New Epping, a 51-hectare site in Melbourne’s north. Once a former quarry and landfill, the land is undergoing a complete reinvention. It is emerging as a mixed-use community built around sustainability,