The Queensland Government has excluded renewable energy and big battery projects from its newly-legislated fast-track consenting scheme following months of stakeholder consultations.
The Government will exclude renewable energy projects, battery developments, and data centres from its fast-track scheme by refusing to declare them as State Strategic Developments (SSDs), it said in a statement on 27 August.
Queensland’s fast-track scheme is meant to speed up approvals for industrial, agricultural, and critical mineral projects. But the Government may also use the scheme to support oil and gas developments.
Queensland’s Coordinator-General and Ministers can override consent conditions and waive planning rules, respectively, to support SSDs under the Government’s fast-track scheme, the Government said on 2 June.
Ministers have the authority to waive planning rules for SSDs if they are satisfied that the rules are duplicative or unsuitable for them, it added at the time. But Ministers can not waive significant project requirements, including the need to secure environmental approvals, mining leases, and landowner permissions.
Business groups have supported the Government’s fast-track scheme. “[The scheme] will help position Queensland at a time when we are competing with other states and countries around the world for critical minerals investment,” Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Officer Janette Hewson said.
“[It] is a welcome step forward, particularly its commitment to coordinated industry development [and] faster approvals,” Hewson added.
Multiple Australian states have stood up fast-tracking schemes since 2025. Queensland’s Coordinator-General and Ministers collectively have similar powers to the Northern Territory’s (NT) Territorial Coordinator and Western Australia’s (WA) Coordinator-General.
WA’s Coordinator-General and the NT’s Territorial Coordinator can set decision deadlines for agencies, modify how legislation is applied to specific projects, and direct planners to consider specific issues when evaluating applications.
In April, the Federal Government also created a bespoke fast-track pilot scheme to support large project developers. Engagement managers will help project developers secure approvals and government funding until at least mid-2027, under the pilot scheme.
By Avinash Govind