Reforms designed to reduce delays to mining projects were introduced to Queensland Parliament today with the Mineral Resources Objections Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.
The Bill introduces a number of reforms, including:
- Reducing environmental “lawfare” by clearly defined objection eligibility requirements, limiting mining lease objections exclusively to parties in directly affected communities including, landholders and local governments, or parties within 125km of the mining lease boundary to remove ideologically driven objections.
- Delivering more certainty for communities and reducing unnecessary court proceedings by replacing automatic referrals to the Land Court with a Ministerial referral process for objections that warrant hearing or an independent review.
- Streamlining approvals by removing duplication of environmental assessments, which are currently considered as part of both environmental authority and mining lease applications. Environmental impacts and objections will only be considered as part of the environmental authority application process.
Queensland’s environmental standards will remain and continue to be assessed through the environmental authority application, which must be complete before a mining lease application can be made.
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the Crisafulli Government was delivering historic reform for Queensland’s mining industry.
“For years Queensland has been subject to environmental lawfare driven by activists based in Melbourne designed to shut down one of Queensland’s largest industries at the detriment of workers and regional communities that rely on mining,” Mr Last said.
“This reform will put an end to the madness that saw objections from activists automatically referred to the Land Court leaving projects in limbo for years with Queensland jobs hanging in the balance.
“This is about maintaining our leading environmental standards, while making it easier to do business in Queensland and delivering certainty for Queensland workers.
“Mining is the backbone of Queensland’s economy and when the industry succeeds, we see the flow on benefits that drive regional jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity.”
Association of Mining and Exploration Companies Chief Executive Officer Warren Pearce welcomed the Queensland Government’s reforms as an important step towards a more efficient and workable approvals system for new resource projects.
“These changes should help reduce unnecessary delay and uncertainty while maintaining appropriate opportunities for genuine community concerns to be considered,” Mr Pearce said.
“Queensland has enormous resource potential, but projects need an approvals system that is efficient and focused on resolving genuine issues rather than creating unnecessary delay.
“These reforms are a positive step towards getting that balance right.”
