Environmental impacts associated with the port will be made publicly available and assessed by the State and Commonwealth regulators. This process is expected to take 2-3 years from referral and will involve opportunities for public comment.
Westport’s assessments
There are two separate environmental assessment processes as part of Westport for:
The maritime infrastructure including shipping channels, breakwater and port facility, and land side infrastructure within the Kwinana Industrial Area.
Anketell Road from Kwinana Freeway to the Kwinana Industrial Area.
Video outlining WA's environmental assessment process
Referral
In March 2024 Westport initiated the environmental impact assessment process with referral of the proposed marine and landside port infrastructure to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Public comment on Westport's referral documentation was open between 19 - 25 March 2024. The EPA subsequently determined:
The port proposal will be subject to Public Environmental Review, the highest level of assessment under the EP Act.
An Environmental Scoping Document will be released for a 2-week public comment period.
An Environmental Review Document will be released for an 8-week public comment period.
To read Westport's referral document and the EPA's decision on the level of assessment please visit sections 1) referral and 2) Decision on whether to assess this proposal on the EPA's Outer Harbour Port Development webpage.
Scoping
'Scoping' is the next step in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process following referral earlier this year. The purpose of the Environmental Scoping Document (ESD) is to specify the form and content requirements of the Environmental Review Document (ERD) that we will produce as part of the Public Environmental Review.
Public comment on the draft ESD opened for 2 weeks from 14 November to 28 November 2024.
During the public comment period, 35 public submissions were received. Westport considered each public comment and/or issue raised and made amendments to the ESD where required. You can review how Westport addressed these submissions in “the proponent’s response to the submissions” available on the EPA’s Consultation Hub.
The EPA approved the ESD on 4 February 2025. You can view the final ESD here, or on the EPA website under section 3: Assessment and 'Scoping’.
Assessment and public review
Westport is now in the assessment phase where an Environmental Review Document (ERD) will be prepared and submitted to the EPA. The EPA will publish the ERD for an 8-week public comment period in line with its referral decision. The public comment period is expected to begin in mid-2026.
The EPA will evaluate if the environmental impacts can be managed to meet the objective for each environmental factor. Where significant residual impacts remain following consideration of Westport’s mitigation and management measures, appropriate environmental offsets will be required.
In response to public comments, Westport will then prepare a ‘Response to Submissions’ document which will also be made publicly available on the EPA website.
EPA Report and Recommendations
At the completion of the assessment, the EPA will prepare a report and recommendations for the Minister for Environment. The assessment report sets out what the EPA considers are the key environmental factors, the EPA’s recommendations as to whether the proposal may be implemented and the conditions to which Westport should be subject. The EPA’s report and recommendations are made publicly available on their website.
Following publication of the EPA report an appeal period is open for 21 days. Any person may lodge an appeal with the Minister in response to the content of the EPA report and recommendations.
Ministerial decision
The WA Minister for Environment will consider the EPA’s assessment report and any appeals before determining, in consultation with other ministers and decision-making authorities, whether the project should be allowed to proceed, and if so, under what conditions.
If the WA Minister for Environment determines that a proposal may be implemented, a Ministerial Statement is issued with a set of conditions that the proponent must comply with to proceed.
Learn more about the WA environmental approvals process at the EPA website.
Referral is the first stage of the Commonwealth environmental assessment process under the under the EPBC Act. At the referral stage, the environment minister determines if a proposed ‘action’ requires assessment (a ‘controlled action’), does not require assessment (‘not a controlled action’) or is clearly unacceptable.
Following a public comment period from 28 June to 12 July 2024, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) determined Westport’s proposed marine and landside port infrastructure is a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act and will be assessed through a Public Environment Report (PER).
Assessment Guidelines
Following referral, DCCEEW then released for public comment draft Assessment Guidelines for the proposed marine and landside port infrastructure (the controlled action).
The Assessment Guidelines outline the requirements for the Commonwealth Public Environmental Report (PER).
The public comment period commenced on 25 November and was open until 6 December 2024.
The final Assessment Guidelines were approved on 6 January 2025 and are available on EPBC Act Public Portal. The direct link to the document is here.
Assessment
As part of the assessment process, the draft the PER will be published for public comment. The public comment period will be at least 20 business days.
Following a review of comments, the PER will be updated by Westport to reflect how public comments have been considered.
The final PER will then be published for the public to view. There is no public comment period at this stage.
Ministerial decision
Following an assessment by DCCEEW, the Commonwealth environment minister decides whether to approve a controlled action and whether there are conditions to an approval.
Learn more about the EPBC Act approvals process here.
Public participation is a key component of the environmental impact assessment process.
The EP Act and EPBC Act provides for several opportunities throughout the process for public engagement and submissions (as outlined above), via the WA EPA’s consultation hub and the Australian Government’s EPBC Act Public Portal.
In addition, Westport will also be communicating with the community throughout the process and providing ongoing opportunities for engagement and feedback.
At the completion of the assessment process, the EPA will publish its assessment report and provide copies to the WA and Australian ministers. Anyone can lodge an appeal on the EPA’s report within 21 days of publication.
