Environmental Defenders Office

Description

Environmental Defenders Office, known as EDO, is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia-Pacific region.

It is an accredited community legal service and a non-government, not-for-profit organisation that uses the law to protect Australia’s wildlife, people and places. EDO lawyers run litigation on behalf of clients, hold government and industry to account, and represent community groups in public interest environmental cases. It also designs and advocates for stronger environmental laws and offers legal and scientific advice, workshops, factsheets and training to communities and the next generation of environmental lawyers.

EDO works across Australia with farmers, conservation groups, Traditional Owners and everyday people, and has eight offices around the country. It covers issues including climate change and energy, biodiversity and threatened species, Aboriginal culture and heritage, water management, urban planning, mining and forestry.

The organisation traces its roots to 1985, and the present national body was formed through the 2019 merger of eight separate state and territory environmental defenders offices, some of which dated back to 1996. It is a member of the National Association of Community Legal Centres.