Adopt the Business Council’s best practice model for major project approval as a priority to speed up approvals and provide greater certainty for investors and the community.
The model supports decision making within 12 months under a single application, single assessment and single approval approach. It involves:
greater strategic planning with better community consultation to direct future land uses and conditions for approval
giving primary responsibility for approvals to a single agency, eliminating the need for investors to liaise with multiple departments
a single application filed after a pre-application consultation process that gives communities a voice right from the start
standardised terms of reference, Environmental Impact Statements and conditions of approval
a one-year umbrella time frame during which a decision should be made
better targeted conditions on approvals that are directly linked to environmental outcomes
streamlined administration and compliance through better coordination between agencies
published data about time taken by agencies to manage applications, their adherence to best practice and how they can improve.