Environmental mining reforms pass through Parliament

28 November 2023

Reforms to the Northern Territory’s environmental regulation of mining activities, providing greater transparency and certainty for Territorians and industry, have passed through Parliament today.

The new Environmental Protection Legislation Amendment (Mining) Bill 2023 will improve the Territory’s environmental management of mining activities.

The Northern Territory’s mining industry represents the largest income of the Territory’s own source revenue. The industry is worth over $6 billion and employs more than 5,000 people directly.

Our resources industry will provide jobs into the future and the Territory will be a global supplier of the critical minerals the world needs.

The reforms implement a modern, streamlined and effective system to facilitate ecologically sustainable mining in the Territory.

The framework delivers improved investor certainty, better environmental outcomes, and will build community confidence in the regulation of mining activities through increased transparency.

This Bill introduces a new, best practice legislative framework for managing the environmental impacts of mining based on the risk of the activity to the environment, with a contemporary outcome-focused approach to regulation.

The Mining Bill introduces:
- a new 3 tier risk-based licencing system to manage mining activities
- extends existing compliance and enforcement powers under the EP Act; and
- provides for incorporation of impacts previously managed through multiple regulatory approvals, under the one overarching environmental (mining) licence.

The Legacy Mines Remediation Bill 2023 was also passed today, to provide a new regulatory framework for the Mining Remediation Fund and the payment of the mining remediation levy to underpin the Government’s commitment to the remediation of legacy mines. 

The Northern Territory now has the most contemporary environmental framework for the management of mining and legacy mines in the country and will be at the forefront of ongoing innovation and developments in legacy mine remediation.

Mining is a priority economic activity in the Northern Territory, and it is important for the industry to further develop in an ecologically sustainable manner, enabled by streamlined, contemporary and robust legislation.

The Territory Labor Government is delivering on our commitment to support the growth and diversification of a sustainable resources industry with improved environmental regulatory frameworks.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Security Kate Worden:

“The resources sector is a major employer and economic driver for the Northern Territory and will be an important factor in our future prosperity.

“Mining needs to be sustainable and ecologically viable. These reforms will give the industry more certainty around what their environmental responsibilities are.

“The new legislative framework will increase transparency and accountability of the regulator and mining operators, delivering stronger environmental outcomes in the regulation of mining activities.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Mining and Industry, Nicole Manison: 

“The mining industry is the biggest contributor to the NT economy, and we want to make it even bigger.

“This will mean thousands of new jobs, economic growth and more investment in the services and infrastructure Territorians deserve.

“These reforms ensure we have streamlined environmental assessments system that will give greater certainty to the mining industry and streamline processes to faster approvals.

“These changes will help make the Northern Territory a more attractive place for mining investment with a modernised environmental system.

“These changes mean Territorians can have confidence that mining can take place in a sustainable way with strong environmental protections in place.”

Northern Territory Government