The Western Australia (WA) Government proposes to develop the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area (SIA) as a site for strategic and heavy industry. A strategic assessment will assess the impacts of development within the Kemerton SIA on protected matters.
Strategic assessments are a collaboration between the Australian Government and an assessment partner. This collaboration allows for a big-picture approach to safeguarding protected matters from the impacts of development over a long time.
The Kemerton SIA strategic assessment on this page is in progress. This means the Environment minister signed an agreement with a partner to undertake a strategic assessment. The partner is now working to develop the required information.
Overview
The Kemerton SIA is 17 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia. It's a development site to support strategic and heavy industry expansion in WA. Several resources processing and production facilities already exist in the area.
The strategic assessment partners are:
- the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI), which is overseeing the development
- DevelopmentWA, which is the manager for the site.
A strategic assessment considers the whole site, and how future development could impact protected matters. In the strategic assessment, the WA Government will plan:
- the kinds of development activities that will happen
- how to avoid, mitigate and offset any impacts on the environment.
Signed agreement
On 31 March 2022, the Commonwealth Environment minister signed an agreement with the WA Government to begin a strategic assessment of the Kemerton SIA.
Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area Strategic Assessment Agreement (PDF 4.44 MB)
Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area Strategic Assessment Agreement (DOCX 891 KB)
Terms of reference
The terms of reference for a strategic assessment detail how the strategic assessment partner is to assess the impacts of their proposed development activities.
The public comment period on the draft terms of reference ran from 29 August to 27 September 2022.
Draft Terms of Reference Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area Strategic Assessment (PDF 180 KB)
Draft Terms of Reference Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area Strategic Assessment (DOCX 58 KB)
Public comments on the draft terms of reference will inform the final document. We'll publish the finalised terms of reference here.
Plan and impact assessment report
Following the final terms of reference, the WA Government will write a plan and impact assessment report. These documents will:
- describe the proposed activities to develop the Kemerton SIA sustainably
- assess the impacts of the plan's actions on protected matters
- set out environmental commitments and outcomes to manage impacts on protected matters from proposed developments
- assess the effectiveness of the proposed environmental management measures.
Before the strategic assessment partners finalise the plan and impact assessment report, the documents will be released for public consultation.
Public comments help to shape the final plan. The Commonwealth minister will consider these comments when deciding whether to endorse the program and approve the strategic assessment under the EPBC Act.
Get in touch
Contact our Referrals Gateway team:
- Email: epbc.referrals@dcceew.gov.au
- Phone: 1800 423 135 between 9 am and 5 pm Canberra time.