Dubbed the Mining Legislation Amendment Bill, it will implement recommendations from the Reforming Environmental Regulation program.

It will be the first tranche of reforms to reduce costs for business without compromising environmental responsibility.

WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion said the legislation was the first step in a major revamp of WA’s approvals system to enhance the state’s reputation as a world-class investment destination.

“The resources sector is a major contributor to our economy, and the flow-on benefits it provides to all West Australians is front and centre of the state government’s reform agenda,” he said.

“We are introducing reforms that make it clearer, easier, and cheaper to do business in WA, whilst maintaining strict environmental standards.

“This does not mean development at any cost. However, I do want to see a transparent approvals process that encourages further investment, and therefore more jobs, for West Australians.”

Additional reforms to strengthen the compliance framework and underpin a risk-based assessment system are planned for next year.

“Risk-based-regulation enables government to set strict environmental standards and clear expectations of industry and allows companies to manage and mitigate any risks to achieving these standards,” Marmion added.

“This frees up our regulators from designing prescriptive conditions for each project they assess, and can instead direct their time to monitoring and enforcing compliance. The result will be more inspectors on the ground and a better understanding of what is actually happening in our environment.”

This amendment bill will facilitate environmental data release and is a part of the Mining Rehabilitation Fund’s regulatory framework, which will be compulsory from July next year.