Australian Environmental Auditors

What Australian Environmental Auditors does

Australian Environmental Auditors (AEA) is an employee-owned, privately held specialist firm founded in 2012 by Phil Hitchcock and Charlie Barber after their departure from OTEK Australia. The company delivers independent, regulatory-appointed environmental auditing and advisory services with coverage across all Australian states and territories, supported by six regional offices in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales/ACT, Queensland, and Tasmania. Its core services span contaminated land auditing, landfill auditing, expert witness support, due diligence, landfill expert advice, human health risk assessment, contaminant hydrogeology, advanced technical support, and Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments under Victoria's Environment Protection Act 2017.

AEA's technical platform is built around accredited environmental auditors (10+ across all jurisdictions) and in-house domain expertise in contaminant hydrogeology, fate and transport modelling, human health and ecological risk assessment, and landfill gas management. The firm is triple-certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 via SAI Global and operates under a national Business Management System. Differentiated capabilities highlighted in the input include conceptual site model development, toxicology review, and landfill gas management — areas where designated staff are described as among Australia's foremost experts.

AEA generates revenue entirely through professional services engagements quoted on a project-by-project basis, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Customer segments are diversified horizontally across property developers, local councils, state and federal government, mining and resources, industrial/manufacturing/energy, and legal practitioners. Disclosed project values range from approximately $200k to $1.5m, and the firm cites involvement in more than 1,200 audit and audit-related projects since inception. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales through regional offices and engagement at industry forums (e.g., WMRR) and webinars, with no channel partners or resellers in the mix. The firm is privately held by employees with no external institutional investors or parent company disclosed.

Name

Australian Environmental Auditors

Legal name

Australian Environmental Auditors Pty Ltd

Website

https://environmental-auditors.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Environmental Auditors is an employee-owned specialist firm providing independent regulatory-appointed contaminated land and landfill auditing services across all Australian states and territories to property developers, councils, mining, industrial, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Auditing Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

EHS Auditing, Inspections & Assurance (BPAHAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Compliance Audits & Management System Audits (EHS Audits, ISO 14001/45001 Compliance Audits) (EUAHABAF), All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) & ASTM Phase I ESA (EUAHAEAA)

Keywords

• Contaminated land auditing
• Landfill auditing services
• Environmental due diligence
• Human health risk assessment
• Expert witness environmental

Headquarters

HQ city

Mount Waverley

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contaminated Land Auditing: Environmental auditing of contaminated sites in all Australian states and territories, providing independent assessment to ensure regulatory compliance for planning and development approvals
2. Landfill Auditing: Comprehensive landfill auditing services including operations audits, construction design verification, hydrogeological assessment verification, and rehabilitation plan verification for new, operational, and closed landfill sites
3. Expert Witness Services: Contaminated land and landfill expert witness support for legal practitioners across Australia, with expertise in emerging contaminants, PFAS, asbestos, and environmental compliance disputes
4. Landfill Expert Advice: Specialist technical landfill advice including landfill gas management, leachate management, hydrogeological assessments, and aftercare management for operational and closed landfill sites
5. Due Diligence Services: Corporate environmental review to help clients understand potential contamination liabilities and environmental compliance obligations during divestments, mergers, or acquisitions
6. Human Health Risk Assessment: In-house risk assessment and toxicology services for contaminated land evaluation, including independent review of quantitative risk assessments
7. Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments (PRSAs): Environmental assessment process under Victoria's Environment Protection Act 2017 to determine need for environmental audits

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Australian Environmental Auditors (AEA) provides independent, regulatory-appointed environmental auditing of contaminated land and landfill sites across all Australian states and territories, supplemented by expert witness support, environmental due diligence, landfill expert advisory, human health risk assessment, contaminant hydrogeology, advanced technical support, and Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments (PRSAs). Services are delivered by 10+ EPA/state-accredited auditors and in-house technical scientists through six regional Australian offices for property developers, councils, government, mining, and industrial clients.

Product overview

Australian Environmental Auditors (AEA) is an employee-owned environmental auditing firm providing contaminated land auditing, landfill auditing, and specialist expert advisory services across all Australian states and territories. The company operates a nationwide network of regulatory-appointed/accredited environmental auditors and technical specialists with local offices in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Launceston. The core service portfolio includes Contaminated Land Auditing and Landfill Auditing as primary offerings, supplemented by Expert Witness, Due Diligence, Landfill Expert Advice, Human Health Risk Assessment, Contaminant Hydrogeology, Advanced Technical Support, and Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments. The company has completed over 1200 audit and audit-related projects, serving diverse clients across property development, local government, state and federal government, industrial, mining, oil and gas, legal practitioners, and other sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contaminated Land Auditing Environmental auditing of potentially contaminated sites to assess contamination status and suitability for development or land use changes, conducted by regulatory-appointed auditors across all Australian states and territories. Targeted at property developers, councils, mining, industrial and government clients needing statutory sign-off for planning approvals.
• Landfill Auditing Comprehensive auditing for new, expanding, operational and closed landfill sites, including construction design verification, operations audits, hydrogeological assessment verification, environmental monitoring program verification, and rehabilitation plan verification. Used by councils, waste operators, and developers for regulatory sign-off.
• Expert Witness Expert witness support and testimony for legal practitioners in contaminated land and landfill matters, covering courts, planning conditions and disputes, with expertise in emerging contaminants including PFAS and asbestos.
• Due Diligence Corporate environmental review to help clients understand potential contamination liabilities and environmental compliance obligations during divestments, mergers and acquisitions.
• Landfill Expert Advice Specialist technical landfill advisory covering landfill gas management, leachate management, hydrogeological assessments, rehabilitation planning, financial assurance calculations, and development within landfill buffer zones for operational and closed landfill sites.
• Human Health Risk Assessment In-house risk-based assessment of contaminated land to ensure site conditions do not pose unacceptable risks to human or ecological receptors, including contaminant fate and transport modelling and toxicological reviews.
• Contaminant Hydrogeology Groundwater assessment services including conceptual site model development and fate and transport modelling to determine contaminant migration pathways in subsurface environments.
• Advanced Technical Support Expert advisory services covering geology, contaminant hydrogeology, fate and transport modelling, landfill gas, remediation, ecological risk assessment, and human health risk assessment to complement auditing activities.
• Preliminary Risk Screen Assessments (PRSAs) Environmental assessment process under Victoria's Environment Protection Act 2017 conducted by EPA-appointed auditors to determine whether an environmental audit is needed and to recommend audit scope.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1200 audit and audit-related projects completed nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACLCA (Australian Contaminated Land Consultants Association)coreOthersAEA team members participate in ACLCA, including past presidency of the South Australian branch. The association provides professional networking, industry standards, and practitioner quality improvement for contaminated land consultants.
• ALGA (Australian Land & Groundwater Association)coreOthersIndustry association for land and groundwater professionals, providing guidelines and professional development for environmental practitioners.
• WMRR (Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia)coreOthersNational industry association for waste management and resource recovery. AEA participates in WMRR forums and events, including presentations at the Tasmanian Waste & Resource Recovery Forum.
• ACTRA (Australasian Environmental and Renewable Energy Dispute Resolution Association)minorOthersIndustry association related to environmental dispute resolution and renewable energy matters.
• EIANZ (Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand)coreOthersProfessional institute for environmental practitioners providing certification, training, and industry standards for environmental professionals.
• AIOH (Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists)minorOthersProfessional association for occupational hygienists, relevant for workplace health and safety aspects of environmental assessments.
• CEnvP (Certified Environmental Practitioner)coreOthersAEA team members hold CEnvP certification including Site Contamination Specialist certification. CEnvP is a professional certification scheme for environmental practitioners.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GHD: Large Australian-headquartered multidisciplinary engineering and environmental consultancy with a significant contaminated land and environmental auditing practice across Australia. Directly competes with AEA on statutory audits, due diligence, and landfill work, but operates as a broad incumbent rather than a specialist auditor.
• SLR Consulting Australia: Global environmental and advisory consultancy with a strong Australian contaminated land and waste management practice. Closely comparable to AEA in services offered (site assessment, auditing support, waste/landfill, due diligence) and in client base across mining, property, and government.
• Senversa: Australia-based specialist contaminated land and environmental consultancy providing site assessments, auditing support, and remediation advice to property, infrastructure, and government clients. Closely comparable specialist peer to AEA within the Australian market.

Broad incumbents

• WSP Australia: Global professional services firm with a sizeable Australian environmental and contaminated land practice. Competes on similar contaminated site assessment, landfill, and due diligence mandates but as part of a much wider transport, property, and environmental portfolio.
• AECOM Australia: Global infrastructure consultancy providing environmental site assessments, remediation oversight, and contaminated land advisory across Australia. Competes with AEA on large infrastructure-driven audit mandates as part of a much broader engineering and design business.
• Arcadis Australia: Global design and consultancy firm with a dedicated environment and contaminated land practice serving Australian property, infrastructure, and resources clients. Direct overlap with AEA on contaminated site auditing but with a global delivery model.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global pure-play environmental, health, safety, and sustainability consultancy with a large Australian practice. Comparable to AEA on contaminated land, due diligence, and EHS services, but with a much broader sustainability and transaction-services portfolio.
• Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with deep water, environment, and contaminated land capability, including a meaningful Australian practice (via legacy Coffey). Direct overlap on landfill and contaminated site work; competes as part of a much larger federal/infrastructure portfolio.
• Jacobs Australia: Global professional services firm providing environmental site assessment, remediation oversight, and contaminated land advisory within Australian infrastructure and resources programmes. Comparable to AEA on contaminated site work but delivered as part of a much larger engineering and consulting portfolio.
• Ramboll Australia: Global environmental and engineering consultancy with an Australian practice covering contaminated site assessment, due diligence, and waste/landfill advisory. Comparable in service mix to AEA but delivered through a global, multi-disciplinary model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-environmental-auditors

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Environmental Auditors