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Naomi Hutchings

Special Counsel
Special Counsel
Perth Australia

Naomi is an environment, planning and communities lawyer with deep industry experience.​

Naomi provides commercially focussed, strategic and practical advice on environment, planning, land access and native title and heritage issues. She brings insights and perspectives gained from working in-house for major mining companies and statutory corporations, in private practice, and in environmental policy development for government. She has worked across multiple jurisdictions in Australia and overseas. Naomi has expertise in helping clients with evolving regulatory, risk, compliance and ESG issues which may arise in operations and the development of major projects.

Naomi’s experience includes providing advice on approvals strategies for major projects, operational compliance and enforcement, risk management and incident response, native title and heritage agreements and approvals, regulatory advice on decarbonisation and renewables projects, land access matters, contaminated land law, rehabilitation and closure liabilities, due diligence and negotiating environmental indemnities and warranties in transaction documents.

She is adept at advising clients on high profile risk and reputational issues that may arise from social and environmental impacts and has guided and supported boards, senior leadership, and external affairs, legal, environmental and studies teams deliver effective and timely outcomes in an increasingly complex area.

According to Legal 500  ‘Perth's Naomi Hutchings has deep knowledge of new policies and regulations concerning the transition to a lower carbon economy.’

Background

Naomi has completed a Master of Laws (Environmental) from University of Sydney in 2009, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from University of Adelaide in 1999. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Naomi is appointed as a member on the Mining Rehabilitation Advisory Panel, an independent statutory panel which provides expert advice to the Director General of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety on Mining Rehabilitation Fund matters.

Experience & expertise

Selected matters

  • State and Federal environmental impact assessment, approval and licensing processes, including State Agreements and tenure advice for major mining, energy, oil and gas and infrastructure projects in Australia and overseas
  • Native title, cultural heritage and environmental due diligence and transactional advice
  • Regulator investigations, planning appeals, prosecutions and enforcement proceedings and incident and crisis response, participating in emergency management teams 
  • Carbon offsets projects, ACCUs, NGER reporting and other decarbonisation advice
  • Advice on rehabilitation, end of mine life issues, remediation and contaminated land liability including interaction with regulators and stakeholders