Wind Farm Industry Policy Statement Handed Down

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) prescribes substantial penalties for activities that have significant impact on any matters of national environmental significance which have not been assessed and approved under that Act. In June 2009, the Wind Farm Industry Policy Statement (Policy Statement) was handed down to assist operators in the wind farm industry decide whether or not proposed actions require such assessment and approval.

The Policy Statement should be read in conjunction with Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1 - Matters of national environmental significance, and also Guideline 1.2 – Actions on, or impacting upon, Commonwealth land and actions by Commonwealth agencies. The Policy Statement and Guidelines are available from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) website.