New DA Requirements: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

On 1 July 2021, amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2007 (the Act) came into effect, which insert new provisions relating to Environmental Impact

Statements (EIS) requirements and Development Application (DA)requirements for projects with significant greenhouse gas emissions.

These amendments to the Act require an amendment to the Planning and Development Regulation 2008 (the Regulation) to set thresholds for these requirements to apply. The associated amendment to the Regulation is anticipated to commence 1 March 2022 and give effect to the following requirements:

1. an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required where the development’s expected operational greenhouse gas emissions are more than the amount prescribed in regulation which is proposed at 1000 TCO2 per year. This is established by an amendment to Schedule 4, part 4.3 of the Act.
2. Development Applications will need to submit a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statement (GHG Statement) where the development’s expected operational greenhouse gas emissions are more than the amount prescribed in regulation which is proposed at 250 TCO2 per year. This is established by an amendment to Section 139 of the Act.

This initiative will assist to inform future policy development. Emissions data reported and collected through this reform will be used for analysis only and will not be

considered in deciding whether an application for a specific development proposal will be approved or refused.

To support industry to understand these requirements, Government has provided the following information:

A – Greenhouse Gas Regulation Factsheet

B – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator

C – Form – Greenhouse Gas Statement

Should you or your members require any further assistance to understand the requirements, you can contact Mr Kieran Ives, A/g Senior Manager DA Services and Support at kieran.ives@act.gov.au or on (02) 6205 9095.