Overview
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) advises government on the acceptability of environmentally significant development proposals. These include development proposals for mining, industry and infrastructure.
The EPA considers the proposals and decides whether or not they require formal environmental impact assessment (EIA) and, if so, at what level.
The EPA conducts its formal EIA process in a structured and transparent manner with opportunities for the public to comment. When you are a proponent, you must produce documentation that describes your proposal, its potential environmental impacts and how you would manage these impacts.
The EPA then considers your documentation, advice from relevant experts and agencies, and any public input to determine whether to recommend that your proposal should go ahead. In carrying out its assessment, the EPA considers the object and principles of the Environmental Protection Act 1986, the environmental objectives for any relevant environmental factors, and the environmental significance of the proposal or scheme.
When the EPA completes its assessment, it sends a report and recommendations to the Minister for Environment. It also makes the report publicly available and opens a public appeal period.
The Minister for Environment then considers the EPA’s report and any appeals before determining, in consultation with other Ministers, whether to allow the proposal or scheme to proceed and, if so, under what conditions. If your proposal is approved, you are required to comply with any approval conditions to ensure appropriate environmental management.
Statement of Principles, Environmental Factors and Environmental Objectives
Relevant documents
You can find more information about the referral and assessment process for significant and strategic proposals in the Environmental Impact Assessment (Part IV Divisions 1 and 2) Administrative Procedures 2016 and the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures Manual (Part IV Divisions 1 and 2).
Read the EPA’s step-by-step guide to the stages of the assessment process for more details.
