Community Consultative Committees provide a forum for communities and development proponents to discuss and resolve issues on new and existing state significant projects.
The Department of Planning and Environment has released guidelines to clarify the roles and responsibilities of Community Consultative Committees, and to help these committees operate effectively. These guidelines will be reviewed every five years to ensure they are kept up to date.
Changes under new guidelines take immediate effect:
- Independent committee chairs will be appointed by the Department of Planning and Environment, without recommendations from project proponents.
- The maximum number of community members will be increased from five to seven.
- Committees can be established for any state significant project, such as mines, wind farms and infrastructure.
- Independent chairpersons will be required to prepare an annual report on the CCC’s activities, to be published on the Department’s website.
- Committees can be established at any stage during the assessment process to give local communities a greater say on the design of major projects.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the changes will improve the community’s ability to engage with major projects.
“We must ensure the public has confidence in our planning system. Thorough public consultation and independent decisions are integral to instilling confidence,” Mr Stokes said.
“These reforms will make our planning system more responsive to the community’s views.”
View the latest Community Consultative Committee guidelines