Govt confirms streamlined approvals

Around $100 billion in Western Australian projects will benefit from a streamlined environmental approvals process under a bilateral agreement with the federal government.

The agreement will provide a single avenue for environmental assessments and approvals for projects that, in turn, reduce decision-making timeframes by around six months.

The move was first announced in May, with the federal government today confirming its intention to enter into the agreement with WA.

Premier Mark McGowan said a streamlined process for major projects would also help fast-track jobs.

“Western Australia has long understood that delivering strong and sustainable economic growth means reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on industry while upholding robust environmental protection standards,” he said.

“This will not in any way compromise environmental standards. It will simply reduce duplication in the approvals process.”

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said consistent and timely environmental decision-making was also a win for the environment.

“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has never a more important time to facilitate economic activity, while safeguarding the environment for future generations,” he said.

Other initiatives to streamline environmental approvals were announced in May, including extra funding for Environment Online – a one-stop shop for environmental assessments that also helps to improve transparency and consistency for approvals. 

The state government funded a further $12.4 million towards the initiative, taking its total contribution to $20.5 million, while the federal government committed $7.5 million.

It complements the Biodiversity Information Office (BIO), which was established to provide a cost-effective system to capture, store, curate, publish and analyse biodiversity data throughout WA.

The state government contributed $7.7 million towards BIO, and the Commonwealth $1.5 million.