Western Australia Minister for Environment Bill Marmion

Reforms Deliver Improved Environmental Approval Timelines

Victor P Taffa

The State Government has cut red tape and significantly reduced the time taken to obtain environmental approvals by streamlining the process to ensure it is timely, rigorous and transparent.

Speaking in State Parliament today, Environment Minister Bill Marmion said the number of approvals granted for major resource projects had significantly increased while the average processing time for environmental approvals had come down. 

“The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has successfully reduced the average processing time to assess works approval applications for major resource projects from more than 60 working days in September 2008, when the Liberal-National Government took power, to 45 days last Quarter.” Mr. Marmion said.

“DEC continues to meet the target time frame of 60 working days to process works approval applications, with only one application not meeting the time frame in the past 24 months.”

“DEC also granted a record 36 works approvals last Quarter.” Mr. Marmion said.

“Since January 2009, DEC has assessed and issued 145 works approvals for the State’s major mining and industrial projects, with 62 of these being issued in the past six months alone.”

“Despite this increase in workload, DEC continues to maintain an average processing time for works approval applications below the target time frame, and is processing licence applications in an average of 34 working days.”

The Minister said in respect to native vegetation clearing permits, there was a target time frame of 90 calendar days to make a decision when the clearing provisions began in July 2004.

“The time taken to make a decision has improved significantly.” Mr. Marmion said.

“DEC set a new target that 80 % of applications were to be decided within 60 calendar days of receipt, with a decision on the remaining 20 % within 90 calendar days.

“In the past 12 months, DEC has met those targets and in the past three months the targets have been exceeded with 86 % of applications decided within 60 days of receipt and the remaining 14 % within 90 days.” Mr. Marmion said.

DEC publishes quarterly reports for works approvals and licences, native vegetation clearing permits, classification of contaminated sites, environmental enforcement statistics, and land use planning advice on its website at: http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/quarterlyreporting