Environmental Defenders Office

The Environmental Defenders Office helps communities, First Nations groups and individuals use the law to protect nature, climate, culture and communities. It is a not-for-profit public interest law practice and an accredited community legal centre.

The first EDO was founded in 1985. Its lawyers, scientists and policy experts run court cases that hold governments and companies to account, and they help improve environmental laws.

People can apply for free legal advice on certain planning and environmental law matters. The EDO also runs community outreach and publishes legal resources to help people understand how the law applies to the environment.

The Darwin office is at 2/98 Woods St, Darwin. The EDO also has offices in Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It works across Australia and the Australia-Pacific region, and its outreach reaches people from Karratha to Cairns.

The EDO focuses on environmental law, including climate change, protecting habitats and wildlife, water, and protecting Country and cultural heritage. It runs litigation, law reform work and community education. It has a First Nations program and a Corporate and Commercial practice that focuses on corporate greenwashing. Its lawyers give up to 15 minutes of free legal advice on certain planning and environmental law matters.