Queensland Mining Reforms: Removing Duplication And Refining Objection Rights

On 15 September 2026, the Queensland Government introduced the Mineral Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (Bill) into Parliament. The Bill proposes significant reforms to streamline mining lease and environmental authority assessment processes, while maintaining opportunities for community participation and environmental assessment under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act).

The proposed reforms seek to better align the Mineral Resources Act 1989 (MR Act) and the EP Act by:

• removing duplicated environmental assessment requirements from the mining lease process
• integrating environmental authority and progressive rehabilitation and closure plan (PRCP) schedule assessment and decision-making
• replacing the automatic referral of objections to the Land Court of Queensland with a discretionary referral process
• refining objection rights and the grounds upon which objections may be made
• better coordinating public notification by providing a combined submission and objection process for mining lease applications and associated site-specific environmental authority applications
• removing public notification, submission and objection processes for lower-risk standard and variation environmental authority applications for mining leases.

Removing duplicated environmental assessment requirements

In Queensland, mining projects currently require both a mining lease under the MR Act and an environmental authority under the EP Act before mining activities may be carried out.

Environmental impacts are principally assessed through the environmental authority process under the EP Act, but they are also considered when a mining lease is decided under the MR Act. The Bill seeks to address this duplication by:

• removing the requirement for mining lease applications to separately consider environmental impacts that are assessed under the EP Act
• allowing environmental impacts to be assessed under the environmental authority process, with objections to the environmental authority documents determined under the EP Act.

Integration of environmental authority and PRCP schedule processes

The Bill proposes to combine the assessment and decision-making processes for site-specific environmental authority applications and PRCP schedules. Under the proposed framework, the administering authority would issue the draft environmental authority and draft PRCP schedule together, with the submission and objection processes applying concurrently under a coordinated timetable.

Where a matter is referred to the Land Court, the hearing and recommendations made by the Court would address the draft environmental authority and draft PRCP schedule together. The administering authority would then make a single decision on the site-specific application and, if it is approved, issue the environmental authority and PRCP schedule within the same statutory timeframe.

Replacement of automatic referrals to the Land Court

Under the current framework, properly made objections made in respect of a mining lease application and an associated site-specific environmental authority application are automatically referred to the Land Court.

If an objection notice is given for an associated environmental authority application, the administering authority must refer that application and the objection notices to the Land Court. The Court then conducts a hearing and makes recommendations before the Minister decides the mining lease application, and the administering authority decides the environmental authority application.

This process can result in delays and increased costs for applicants, objectors and decision-makers.

The Bill proposes to replace the automatic referral of objections to the Land Court with a discretionary process. The Minister may refer a mining lease application, or a specific matter relating to it, to the Land Court for a hearing. Under the parallel environmental authority process, the administering authority may refer the application, an objection or a specific matter to the Land Court. Each decision-maker could therefore seek the Court’s independent consideration where this would assist with the relevant statutory decision.

Refining objection rights and grounds

The Bill also proposes significant changes to the objections process, including who may lodge an objection and the matters they may raise. Under Queensland’s current framework, any person or organisation may object to a mining lease application on any ground, without having to show that they would be directly affected.

The Bill proposes to restrict objections to eligible entities, comprising:

• affected individuals, including owners of the subject land, land required for access and adjoining land
• occupiers of land wholly or partly within the proposed mining lease area, and owners or occupiers of land wholly or partly within the area extending 125 km beyond its boundary
• the relevant local government and any entity providing infrastructure wholly or partly on the subject land.

Under the proposed reforms, objections must address specified statutory matters.

For a mining lease application, objections must address the applicable decision criteria under the MR Act. For a site-specific environmental authority application, they must address the draft environmental authority, any draft PRCP schedule and the relevant decision criteria under the EP Act. Individuals who are not eligible to object may still make submissions on an applicable environmental authority process during the notification period, but those submissions are not referred to the Land Court.

Reforms to the public notification process

Mining lease applications that require a site-specific environmental authority are currently subject to notification and objection requirements under both the MR Act and EP Act. The Bill proposes to coordinate these requirements through a mining lease notice that supports a combined submission and objection process. Similar processes would apply to certain major amendment applications involving ineligible environmentally relevant activities, including where no new mining lease is sought.

Streamlining lower-risk environmental authority applications

Public notification, submission and objection requirements would be removed for lower-risk standard and variation environmental authority applications. These application types are available only where published eligibility criteria are met, and those criteria are themselves developed through consultation. The reform is intended to remove unnecessary procedural steps for lower-risk activities.

Transitional provisions

The Bill also sets out transitional arrangements for mining lease and environmental authority applications already under way.

For an existing application, the process will depend on its status immediately before the reforms commence. Key considerations include whether the application has been referred to the Land Court, whether the hearing has started, whether the Court has made an order or direction other than an order or direction fixing a hearing date, and whether the Court has already made a recommendation.

Broadly:

• if the hearing has started or the Land Court has made a relevant order or direction, the former provisions will generally continue to apply to the hearing
• if the Court has already made its recommendation, the Minister or administering authority will decide the application under the former provisions, although the resulting decision will be treated as a decision made under the amended legislation
• an application that has not been referred to the Land Court will proceed under the amended legislation
• if an application has been referred to the Land Court but the hearing has not started and the relevant procedural threshold has not been reached, the referral may be taken to have never been made, and existing objections will be treated as objections under the corresponding amended provisions. The Minister or administering authority will then handle the application under the amended framework, including the new discretionary referral provisions.

Separate transitional provisions apply to different environmental authority application types, including site-specific, standard and variation applications.

Next steps for mining entities, landholders, local governments and infrastructure providers

The Bill has been referred to the Primary Industries and Resources Committee for detailed consideration and report by 6 November 2026.

The Committee’s key dates are:

• submissions close: 10am on Monday, 12 October 2026
• public briefing: Wednesday, 14 October 2026
• public hearings: Friday, 16 October 2026 in Walkerston, and Wednesday, 28 October 2026 in Brisbane.

Once the Committee’s report has been tabled, the Government will have three months to respond to any recommendations.

Mining entities, local landholders and other stakeholders should consider making a submission if the proposed reforms may affect their interests or participation rights.

For mining entities, a submission provides an opportunity to identify practical issues in aligning mining lease, environmental authority and PRCP processes, including notification sequencing, transitional arrangements, project timing and cost.

Landholders, local governments, infrastructure providers and community stakeholders may also wish to address whether the proposed eligibility tests, confined objection grounds and discretionary Land Court referral process provide an appropriate opportunity for affected interests to be heard.

Stakeholders should monitor the Committee’s report, the Government’s response and Parliamentary debate because the Bill may be amended before passage, and its commencement and transitional provisions will determine which framework applies to existing and proposed applications.