Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The Minister must decide whether or not to approve, for the purposes of each controlling provision for a controlled action, the taking of the action.
(1A) The Minister must make the decision within the relevant period specified in subsection (1B) that relates to the controlled action, or such longer period as the Minister specifies in writing.
(1B) The relevant period , in relation to a controlled action, is as follows:
(a) if the action is the subject of an assessment report--the period of 30 business days beginning on the first business day after the Minister receives the assessment report;
(b) if Division 3A of Part 8 (assessment on referral information) applies to the action--the period of 20 business days beginning on the first business day after the Minister receives the finalised recommendation report under subsection 93(5);
(c) if Division 4 of Part 8 (assessment on preliminary documentation) applies to the action--the period of 40 business days beginning on the first business day after the Minister receives the documents under subsection 95B(1) or the statement under subsection 95B(3), as the case requires;
(d) if Division 5 (public environment reports) or Division 6 (environmental impact statements) of Part 8 applies to the action--the period of 40 business days beginning on the first business day after the Minister receives the finalised public environment report or the finalised environmental impact statement, as the case requires;
(e) if a commission has conducted an inquiry relating to the action--the period of 40 business days beginning on the first business day after the Minister receives the report of the commission.
What is an assessment report ?
(2) An assessment report is a report given to the Minister as described in:
(a) subsection 47(4) (about assessments under a bilateral agreement); or
(b) subsection 84(3) (about assessments in a manner specified in a declaration); or
(c) subsection 87(4) (about assessments by accredited assessment processes).
(4) If the Minister specifies a longer period for the purposes of subsection (1A), he or she must:
(a) give a copy of the specification to the person proposing to take the action; and
(b) publish the specification in accordance with the regulations.
Time does not run while awaiting advice from Independent Expert Scientific Committee
(4A) If, under section 131AB, the Minister is required to obtain advice from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Unconventional Gas Development and Large Coal Mining Development before making a decision whether or not to approve the taking of an action, a day is not to be counted as a business day for the purposes of subsection (1B) if it is:
(a) on or after the day the Minister requested the advice; and
(b) on or before the day on which the Minister obtains the advice.
Time does not run while further information is sought
(5) If, under section 132, the Minister has requested more information for the purposes of making a decision whether or not to approve the taking of an action, a day is not to be counted as a business day for the purposes of subsection (1B) if it is:
(a) on or after the day the Minister requested the information; and
(b) on or before the day on which the Minister receives the last
of the information requested.