Alcoa reported to Ad Standards Australia for allegedly misleading or deceptive conduct

Conservation groups have joined forces to take Alcoa to task over advertising claims around the environmental impacts of its bauxite mining operations in the Northern Jarrah Forest in Perth’s Darling Range on Noongar Country.

Alcoa placed two advertisements in the West Australian newspaper in May and June this year claiming, among other things. that:

1. Alcoa had rehabilitated 75% of the Jarrah Forest destroyed by its mining operations); and
2. Alcoa’s forest clearing operations had not impacted Perth’s drinking water supplies. 

Three of the state’s leading conservation groups — WA Forest Alliance (WAFA), the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA), and The Wilderness Society (TWS) — believe these and other claims made in the advertisements are allegedly false or misleading and in breach of the Environmental Claims Code of Ad Standards, Australia’s advertising regulation body.

The Environmental Defenders Office, the Australia-Pacific region’s leading public interest environmental legal practice, has prepared and lodged the complaints to Ad Standards on behalf of the three groups on 28 July. [1]

After 60 years of operation, Alcoa is yet to have any of its rehabilitation signed off as completed to WA Government standards. 

An independent review of Alcoa’s rehabilitation concluded, however, the “severity, duration and scale” of potential environmental impacts of Alcoa’s future mining mean there are real doubts as to “whether these impacts can be realistically and credibly managed through rehabilitation”. [2]

The joint complaint comes as the US mining giant’s proposed 11,500ha expansion plans are currently before the WA Environmental Protection Authority for public comment until 21 August.

WAFA Senior Campaigner Jason Fowler said: “To date, none of the land cleared by Alcoa has met the WA Government’s Rehabilitation Criteria, and yet Alcoa is telling Western Australians that it has rehabilitated 75% of the mined Northern Jarrah Forest. This is clearly not true.

“West Australians love the Northern Jarrah Forest — it’s such a unique and special place. Ongoing clearing of the Northern Jarrah Forest is recognised internationally as reducing the resilience and adaptive capacity of the forest, increasing the risk of collapse. Alcoa wants to continue with its destruction, and deceive us while it does so.” 

CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said: “Ad standards exist in Australia to ensure advertising aligns with community standards and values. Alcoa has taken advantage of the trust of the WA people and provided allegedly misleading and deceptive claims to its audience through these adverts. The people of WA deserve better and the forests of WA deserve better.

“The US mining giant has a two-pronged proposal before the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to clear an area of threatened species habitat in Perth’s water catchment zone equivalent to approximately 27.5 Kings Parks, or 5,355 Optus Stadium playing surfaces. 

“Also being considered is a proposed increase both in production at Alcoa’s Pinjarra Alumina Refinery and the rate of bauxite mining at its existing Huntly Mine, further escalating rates of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Both proposals are now open for public comment on the EPA’s website until 21 August.”

TWS spokesperson, Jenita Enevoldsen said: “We believe this intensive advertising campaign of alleged misrepresentation is attempting to drown-out the voices of experts about the bleak reality of Alcoa’s mining practices in the Northern Jarrah Forest, including the very real threat to Perth’s drinking water supply.   

“Freedom of Information requests obtained by the Wilderness Society show that Alcoa is responsible for spills, drainage failures, turbidity events and sediment flowing into Perth’s drinking water dams. 

“Water Corporation reports suggest there are significant risks associated with Alcoa’s current operations, noting that the ‘probability of contamination of reservoirs is considered certain’ and that future mining continues to pose further risks to the community’s drinking water catchment. 

“This evidence is in direct contradiction to what Alcoa are telling the WA public through their recent advertising campaign.

“For over 60 years, decisions about where Alcoa can mine and how much forest they can bulldoze have been made behind closed doors, without any public scrutiny, through loopholes in environmental laws. 

“Now the spotlight is squarely focused on Alcoa’s lack of social licence to operate. It’s time to ensure they are held accountable and an end date is put on mining of the irreplaceable Jarrah Forest.” 

BACKGROUND

• Most of Alcoa’s WA operations have been approved behind closed doors. Alcoa has already cleared over 28,000ha of forests in WA. Currently, Alcoa is proposing to clear a further 11,500ha across three regions of the Northern Jarrah Forest (NJF) over a 20 year period. The proposal represents the first time in 60 years that the WA public will have an opportunity to comment on Alcoa’s mining operations.[3]
• The Northern Jarrah Forest is one of the world’s most biodiverse temperate forests, hosting over 800 plant species and 10 endangered animal species.[4]
• After 60 years, Alcoa is yet to have any of its rehabilitation signed off as completed to WA Government standards. An independent review of Alcoa’s rehabilitation concluded, however, the “severity, duration and scale” of potential environmental impacts of Alcoa’s future mining mean there are real doubts as to “whether these impacts can be realistically and credibly managed through rehabilitation”.[5]
• “Bauxite mining operations represent the single most significant risk to water quality in Perth Metropolitan and Southwest drinking water catchments.”[6] Members of the public are not allowed in Reservoir Protection Zones (RPZ) for any reason, yet Alcoa has been clearing forests for mining and infrastructure in these areas.
• The Water Corporation has noted that the “probability of contamination of reservoirs” is “certain” and the WA Department of Health has stated that the 2023 Alcoa Transitional Approvals Framework2 “is not consistent with the published DWSP [Drinking Water Safety Plan] risk management objectives and Australian Drinking Water Guidelines”.[7]

REFERENCES 

[1] Complaint regarding Alcoa’s claims of Jarrah Forests rehabilitation. LINK 

Complaint regarding Alcoa’s claims of minimal impact on Perth’s drinking water supply. LINK

[2] Alcoa Jarrah Forest Rehabilitation – Peer Review , Nov 2023, Stantec – Jasper, Lalor, Banning. https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/PER_documentation2/B23%20-%20Stantec%20-%20Alcoa%20Jarrah%20Forrest%20Rehabilitation%20-%20Peer%20Review.pdf 

[3] Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Revised Proposal, May 2025, WA EPA, https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/proposals/pinjarra-alumina-refinery-revised-proposal
Alcoa in WA: 60 years, 28,000 hectares of forest cleared, zero rehabilitation completed, March 2023, Milne P, https://www.watoday.com.au/environment/sustainability/alcoa-in-wa-60-years-28-000-hectares-of-forest-cleared-zero-rehabilitation-completed-20230307-p5cq4j.html 

[4] Standards-based evaluation inform ecological restoration outcomes for a major mining activity in a global biodiversity hotspot, Campbel et al, 2024, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/rec.14236 

The Leeuwin Group of scientists slams Alcoa for mining in Western Australia’s jarrah forests, 2023, ABC, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/the-leeuwin-group-scientists-stop-alcoa-mining-wa-jarrah-forests/103155496 

[5] Alcoa Jarrah Forest Rehabilitation – Peer Review , Nov 2023, Stantec – Jasper, Lalor, Banning. https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/PER_documentation2/B23%20-%20Stantec%20-%20Alcoa%20Jarrah%20Forrest%20Rehabilitation%20-%20Peer%20Review.pdf 

[6] Catchment Risk Assessment Alcoa 2023 – 2027 MMP  Procedural assessment under MS 728 informing the environmental audit of Alcoa’s 2023 – 2027 MMP. 2022, Water Corporation, https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/hub/media/tearout-excerpt/30655/FOI-869—Document-8—Catchment-Risk-Assessment-Framework—Alcoa-2023—2027-MMP.pdf 

[7] Department of Health, 2024. Drinking Water Source Protection subcommittee report. Catchment Risk Assessment Alcoa 2023 – 2027 MMP  Procedural assessment under MS 728 informing the environmental audit of Alcoa’s 2023 – 2027 MMP. 2022, Water Corporation, https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/hub/media/tearout-excerpt/30655/FOI-869—Document-8—Catchment-Risk-Assessment-Framework—Alcoa-2023—2027-MMP.pdf