Ad Standards Australia has upheld a claim that a recent advertising blitz by Alcoa to support its proposed expansion of bauxite mining in Perth’s unique Northern Jarrah Forest breached 80% of the Environmental Code: Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4.

This landmark decision confirms Aloca’s failings in its recent advertisements in the West Australian Newspaper to: ‘tell the truth, make evidence-based claims, be clear and not vague & provide genuine benefit to the community’.

The Ad Standards Community Panel upheld the complaint by leading environment groups, the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA), the WA Forest Alliance (WAFA) and The Wilderness Society (TWS), as lodged in July.

“The Ad Standards Community Panel upheld your complaint, determining that the advertisement breached one or more of the advertiser codes administered by Ad Standards.”

Alcoa placed an advertisement in the West Australian newspaper in May this year claiming, among other things, it had rehabilitated 75% of the Jarrah Forest destroyed by its mining operations.

Environment groups stated this claim was 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, prepared and lodged the complaints to Ad Standards on behalf of the three groups on 28 July. [1]

In response to the findings it breached four sections of the Environment Code, Alcoa responded to Ad Standards Australia with the following:

“Thank you for the opportunity to make an Advertiser Statement. The advertisement the subject of the complaint had already been discontinued per the original schedule, and there are no plans for the advertisement to be used again in future.”

CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said: “It’s galling that Alcoa has responded by saying the advertisement has ‘already been discontinued’, conveniently two weeks after the WA EPA public comment period over its mining expansion plans closed on 21 August.

“The false claims made in that advertising blitz could well have influenced the public’s response to the EPA’s call for submissions, despite the fact that a record 59,000 people took the time to have their say.

“Alcoa has taken advantage of the trust of the WA people and provided misleading and deceptive claims to its audience through these adverts. The people of WA deserve better.

“The US mining giant is proposing 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. This comes after 60 years of operation, in which Alcoa has yet to rehabilitate any mined areas to WA Government standards.”

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. The findings of Ad Standards Australia show 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 in a changing climate. Alcoa wants to continue with its destruction, and has tried to deceive us while it does so.”

TWS spokesperson, Jenita Enevoldsen said: “We believe this intensive advertising campaign of misrepresentation attempted to drown-out the voices of experts about the bleak reality of Alcoa’s mining practices in the Northern Jarrah Forest.

“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.”

ENDS

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]

MEDIA CONTACTS

CCWA | Media Advisor John Cooke | 0433 679 780

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