The Federal and Western Australian Governments have agreed to progress a bilateral approvals agreement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to cut duplication in environmental assessments for mining and major projects. The deal would allow WA environmental impact assessments and conditions set by the WA Environmental Protection Authority to be formally accredited for Commonwealth purposes, reducing parallel federal referrals and assessment timeframes. For proponents planning large iron ore, lithium and critical minerals projects in the Pilbara and Goldfields, the change could materially compress pre‑construction schedules and simplify approvals risk management.

Industry groups led by the Minerals Council of Australia are pushing for a 25 per cent reduction in project approval red tape, arguing current federal and state processes can add years to mine development timelines. The MCA says duplicated environmental assessments and overlapping permitting for water, heritage and land access are inflating pre‑production costs and delaying investment decisions on new and expansion projects. For geotechnical and mining engineers, faster, more predictable approvals could materially affect feasibility study sequencing, contractor mobilisation windows and long‑lead equipment procurement.

RICS has launched CLEAR – the Coalition for Life Cycle Emissions Alignment and Reporting – at the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Summit in Lausanne to harmonise whole-life carbon measurement across the global built environment. Co-founded with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Global Building Data Initiative, and sponsored by Autodesk, CLEAR will analyse existing methodologies, resolve inconsistencies and create a globally applicable assessment and reporting framework. The coalition, involving firms such as AECOM, Arcadis, Heidelberg Materials and Morgan Sindall, will provide practical tools, technical resources and an online platform to standardise carbon data for design, procurement and asset management decisions.