One of the department’s primary roles is to assist project proponents in the development of major resource and industry projects. It does this by facilitating and leading the coordination of approvals processes across government.
The department is the Lead Agency for state sponsored significant projects and major resource and infrastructure projects where the proposed investment is significant or of strategic importance to Western Australia.
After a State Agreement is entered into, the proponent is required to submit a development proposal for its project. In its Lead Agency role, the department assesses development proposals to identify the nature and scale of the project and the statutory requirements, and determine any missing information. This is referred to as the ‘pre-lodgement meeting’, and is the phase of the approvals process where the proponent meets with representatives from the department.
Pre-lodgement meetings guide proponents on the information required to be submitted with the proposal and help them to identify all relevant stakeholders. They also enable the proponents to give informed and adequate thought to the timelines involved.