The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is calling for public comment on Westport’s Assessment Guidelines for the proposed marine and landside port infrastructure.
Following referral earlier this year, this signals a step forward in the environmental assessment process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) (EPBC Act), Australia’s federal environmental legislation.
The Assessment Guidelines outline the requirements for the Commonwealth Public Environmental Report (PER).
To have your say and view the Assessment Guidelines click here.
The public comment period commenced on 25 November and is open until 6 December 2024.
The assessment can also be located on the EPBC Act Public Portal under EBPC reference number 2024/09859 (Outer Harbour Port Development, Kwinana).
Next steps
The final Assessment Guidelines will be updated and approved by DCCEEW following consideration of public submissions.
The next step in the process is the Assessment phase where the Public Environment Report (PER) is prepared by Westport and then submitted to DCCEEW.
Westport anticipates submitting the PER in early 2026, ahead of it being published by DCCEEW later in 2026 for a 20-business day public comment period.
About Westport’s environmental assessments processes
Westport must secure environmental approvals under both the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act) and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) (EPBC Act) before construction of the port facilities can commence.
Environmental impact assessment documents for the Westport project will be publicly available, and subject to assessment by State and Commonwealth environmental regulators, for approval by the respective State and Commonwealth Ministers for Environment. This process is expected to take 2-3 years from referral and will include multiple opportunities for public comment.
