Overhaul of WA’s environmental approvals processes and procedures announced

On 12 December 2023, the Western Australian (WA) Government published the ‘Independent Review of WA Environmental Approval Processes and Procedures’, prepared by former Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) chair Dr Paul Vogel and planning expert David McFerran (Vogel-McFerran Review), and the Western Australian Government’s responses to their recommendations.

The Vogel-McFerran Review made 39 recommendations to improve the environmental approvals framework in WA and streamline project applications. The recommendations broadly relate to amending the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act), setting up more in-depth reviews into specific matters, and introducing new policies in the various WA Government departments and agencies involved in the administration of environmental approvals.

The majority of the Vogel-McFerran Review’s recommendations were accepted or noted by the WA Government. The outcomes of the recommendation in respect of the ‘social surroundings’ definition in the EP Act is subject to further review and consideration of holistic impacts to Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Notable recommendations include:

• Enabling the Environment Minister to direct the EPA to assess a project of ‘State significance’ within a specified timeframe.
• Amending section 41(3) of the EP Act to permit Part IV EP Act assessments to run in parallel with applications submitted to other departments and agencies.
• Amending the EP Act to reform the EPA as a skill-based board with a statutorily mandated ‘Statement of Intent’ from the Minister of Environment as a guiding document when considering applications.
• Developing new functions within the EPA, in particular the creation of an administrative function for case management of EP Act Part IV proposals and the establishment of Advisory Committees of paid subject matter experts to produce guidance documents.
• Undertaking reviews into the EPA and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s procedures, and suggesting ways to reform their culture to better facilitate approval case management and reduce duplication. In respect of reducing duplication, a particular focus on assessments of emissions from projects already covered by the Commonwealth Safeguard Mechanism and Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment has been foreshadowed.

The WA Government announced in response to the Vogel-McFerran Review that it has committed an investment of $18 million towards allowing for ‘rapid deployment of additional resources for critical approvals’, including through the engagement of external consultants and technical experts to progress assessments. The WA Government has also flagged that further consultation with industry and conservation groups will be undertaken during the reform process.

The WA Government has also announced that work is ‘already underway to deliver reform’, but has otherwise not indicated when the Vogel-McFerran Review recommendations will be implemented. However, the Vogel-McFerran Review included recommended time frames which ranged between less than 6 months to up to 18 months.

For more detailed advice in relation to your environmental approval applications and how these reforms may affect you, please contact Melanie Debenham or Ellen Frodsham.

By Melanie Debenham, Partner, Ellen Frodsham, Solicitor, and Nick Troy, Solicitor.