The Productivity Commission has released its draft report on resources sector regulation and, if implemented, its recommendations have important implications for the sector. In particular, the report includes a number of recommendations focused on reducing delays in project assessment and approval, ...

Queensland Parliament has passed legislation that, when it comes into effect on 1 July 2020, will change the state's regulatory framework for health and safety in the resources industry. ...

New legislation will, if passed, introduce a suite of reforms aimed at mitigating the risks of Queensland resources projects not being rehabilitated, which also have major implications for the sales of such projects. The changes' wide-ranging impact includes tighter criteria for tenement applicants and transferees, and introducing an ability for tenement conditions to be adjusted following a change of control of tenement holders. In particular, potential tenement applicants and purchasers should consider initial due diligence on people and entities that may be considered their associates, so they are prepared to defend any decision in relation to potential disqualification. ...

If passed, the Mineral and Energy Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 (Qld) (Bill), introduced in the Queensland Parliament on 4 February 2020, will create industrial manslaughter offences in the Queensland resources industry. ...

Following a review by the NSW Productivity commission, the NSW Government has announced major reforms to the Independent Planning Commission. However, some are left wondering whether the proposed changes address concerns regarding inefficiency and inconsistency in IPC decision-making. ...

The Productivity Commission is examining resources sector regulation, with a focus on identifying opportunities to simplify approval processes without compromising environmental standards or community expectations. ...

Conditions of development consent regulating scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions outside Australia will be prohibited under proposed legislation introduced into the NSW Parliament. The draft legislation forms part of a package of measures announced by the Deputy Premier to provide certainty for mining investment, which includes continuing the previously announced review of the Independent Planning Commission (IPC). ...

The Rix's Creek Continuation Project has been approved by the NSW Independent Planning Commission only weeks after the refusal of the Bylong Coal Project. In its approval of Rix's Creek, the Commission accepted that scope 3 emissions are the responsibility of the end customer for coal exports. This conclusion significantly departs from the position taken by the differently constituted Commission on Bylong. ...

The Queensland Parliament passed the Mineral, Water and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018, which will make important changes to the various Acts governing resource activities in that state. This insight examins the changes to mineral resources legislation. ...

We talked to Diane Jurgens, Chief Technology Officer at BHP, about the role that inclusion and diversity play in innovation and transformation, leading to greater productivity and real business value. ...