Environmental Defenders Office of Northern Queensland Information

We are the Environmental Defenders Office of Northern Queensland - a non-profit, non-government community legal centre specialising in public interest environmental law. EDO NQ is the only independent Northern Queensland member of the Australian Network of EDOs (ANEDO), which actively works together to protect and conserve the national environment in the public interest. Since 1996, EDO NQ has provided assistance to those in the Northern Queensland community who are working to protect the environment. EDO NQ does this through providing legal advice and case work assistance, providing community legal education (through the Community Litigants Handbook, Factsheets, Bulletins and Newsletters, Alerts,Facebook and community legal education seminars and workshops) and engaging with all tiers of Australian government in law reform and legal policy review projects and consultations. For 18 years community groups and members of the public have made use of our Community Legal Centre's free or low-cost environmental law legal service. As well as making submissions on over 300 law reform and policy changes and presenting 200 legal education projects, EDO NQ has assisted over 1,300 clients with 9,000 information advices; 4,170 legal advices and nearly 600 cases. This service assists conservation groups, members of the public and landholders to protect the places they love, their health, and the wider natural environment. EDO NQ services the area from (and including) Sarina (south of Mackay) north to the Torres Strait and the border with Papua New Guinea, and across the breadth of Queensland. This huge area is several times the size of Victoria and contains three World Heritage Areas; including the legendary Great Barrier Reef (threatened with being listed as a World Heritage Area 'In Danger' by UNESCO) and Wet Tropics. The area is home to a vast range of ecosystems, including rainforest, reef, savannah, wetlands, woodlands and semi-arid areas. Become a member!