On 1 May 2025, the Queensland Government introduced the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (Qld) (Bill), alongside the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation 2025 (Qld) (Draft Amending Regulation), marking a major proposed shift in how renewable energy projects will be assessed and approved across the State.
Whilst these proposed reforms represent a key step in standardising renewable energy project assessment in Queensland (which has previously varied substantially depending on location, project scale and local government policies), they also present significant new hurdles that proponents of wind and solar projects (and their investors) will need to grapple with, including retrospectively in some cases.
In this alert, we unpack the proposed reforms and what they mean for industry going forward.
How did we get here?
The road to these landmark reforms began under the previous Labor administration. In September 2024, before the former Miles Government went into caretaker mode, a Draft Renewables Regulatory Framework was released for consultation to consider how, among other things, environmental outcomes, community participation and landholder protections could be improved for renewable energy projects in Queensland.
The (now elected) Crisafulli Government took a commitment to the election in October 2024 that all renewable energy projects would become ‘impact assessable’ with approval processes consistent with other land uses like mining and agriculture, so that local governments and communities in which projects are located could be thoroughly consulted. The Crisafulli Government:
- revised the Draft Renewables Regulatory Framework in December 2024;
- made legislative amendments in January 2025 to make all wind farms in Queensland subject to impact assessment (see our previous alert here); and
- ‘called in’, or proposed to call in, a number of wind farm projects (to allow the Planning Minister to be the sole arbiter for those projects).
What new reforms have been proposed?
Central to the proposed reforms are 4 key changes that will significantly reshape the approval process for both wind and solar farms in Queensland.
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CHANGE
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OVERVIEW
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Example
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Impact assessment and public consultation for all solar farms |
Further to all wind farms becoming subject to impact assessment on 3 February 2025, it is now proposed that all solar farms also be subject to impact assessment (which is rigorous, lengthy and subject to third party appeal rights). |
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State to oversee ‘large-scale solar farm’ assessment We note a ‘large-scale solar farm’ means a “prescribed renewable energy facility” for solar power generation of 1MW+ or covering 2ha+. |
The responsibility for assessing large-scale solar farm applications will shift from local governments to the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) (noting SARA is already the assessment manager for wind farms). This change is backed by a new draft planning instrument, State Code 26: Solar Farm Development, under the State Development Assessment Provisions (SDAP), ensuring more consistent and rigorous oversight across Queensland. To confirm, development applications for solar farms that do not meet the ‘large-scale’ definition will still be assessed by the relevant local government, via impact assessment. |
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Mandatory Social Impact Assessments (SIA) and Community Benefit Agreements (CBA) for all wind farms and large-scale solar farms |
Proponents of wind farms and large-scale solar farms will be required to complete an SIA and establish a legally binding CBA with the relevant local government or stakeholder, before lodging the relevant development application. To confirm, these requirements will not apply to development applications for solar farms that do not meet the ‘large-scale’ definition. |
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Solar and wind farm changes in Priority Development Areas (PDAs) |
The reforms propose amendments to the Economic Development Regulation 2023 (Qld) to make a material change of use for wind and solar farms within a PDA ‘accepted development’, meaning no approval would be required (i.e. it may now be easier to carry out a wind or solar project if located within a PDA). SARA will also be the assessment manager for all solar farms located in a PDA, against the relevant PDA development scheme (effectively replacing the previous role of local governments as delegate of the Minister for Economic Development Queensland for these projects). |
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We unpack the proposed impact assessment and community benefit scheme changes further below.
New ‘impact assessment’ framework for solar farms
Currently in Queensland, solar farms are assessed by each relevant local government under that local government’s planning scheme. This decentralised system creates inconsistency, with projects classified as either ‘code’ or ‘impact’ assessable depending on the local government area, resulting in varied approval processes across the State.
The Draft Amending Regulation seeks to introduce a consistent, State-led framework with the following key reforms.
- Impact assessment for all solar farms: a material change of use for all solar farms will be impact assessable under amendments to the Planning Regulation 2017 (Qld).
- ‘Impact assessment’ is rigorous, can often take up to 12 months to complete, involves public notification and entitles any third party to make submissions about the proposed development and appeal the development approval (if granted) to the Queensland Planning & Environment Court.
- Typically, appeals can take at least a further 12 to 18 months to resolve and any issued development approval will not be in effect during this time (i.e. the proponent cannot progress the development while an appeal is on foot). There is also more flexibility and discretion for the decision-maker about whether to approve an impact assessable development application.
- SARA as assessment manager for large-scale solar farms: SARA will assess all large-scale solar farm applications, with local governments continuing to assess solar farms that are not large-scale.
- New SDAP State Code 26 for large-scale solar farms: this new code will guide the location, design, operation and decommissioning of large-scale solar farms, with requirements to protect ecologically sensitive areas, high-value agricultural land, and local communities.
Mandatory Community Benefit System
Historically in Queensland, the development assessment process has not required wind and solar farm proponents to identify or manage the indirect or cumulative social impacts they may have on host communities.
The Bill seeks to change this by introducing a new Community Benefit System under the Planning Act 2016 (Qld) (Planning Act), comprised of both SIA and CBA requirements which must be met prior to lodging a development application for a wind farm or large-scale solar farm. If these requirements are not met, the application will not be considered ‘properly made’.
- SIA: Proponents must assess the social impacts of a project across key areas, propose mitigation strategies and produce a Social Impact Management Plan. This includes ongoing monitoring and updates throughout the project’s life cycle, with all assessments to follow a prescribed Social Impact Assessment Guideline. Whilst the Coordinator-General established an SIA Guideline in 2018, the Guideline will be amended to enable it to be applied as a statutory instrument under the Planning Act. The SIA Guideline will also ensure that current statutory powers and processes under the Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Act 2017 (Qld) remain unchanged.
- CBA: This is a legally binding agreement between the proponent and the local government (or relevant stakeholder) to deliver tangible benefits to the community. This may include financial contributions, infrastructure, or other works. Informed by the SIA, the CBA is designed to reflect local priorities and, through early community involvement, help build social licence for both the project and its proponent. The CBA process is intended to be flexible and fit-for-purpose, adapting to the scale and context of each project. It can apply to multiple developments, at local or regional levels, including cases where a proponent’s renewable energy project spans across multiple local government areas.
To support these reforms, the current Development Assessment Rules (Version 2.0) (DA Rules) will be updated to include new guidance on application processes, timing and public notification requirements for wind and solar projects subject to SIA.
What these changes mean for industry
The implications of these proposed reforms are significant for both current and future wind and solar projects in Queensland. They also serve as a blueprint for what subsequent reforms may look like for other types of renewable energy projects, as the Crisafulli Government progresses its renewable energy reform agenda.
Retrospective application of SIA and CBA requirements
Instead of the new SIA and CBA requirements only applying to new applications for wind and large-scale farms once the reforms have commenced, the SIA and CBA requirements will apply retrospectively to wind and large-scale farm applications currently under assessment at the time the reforms commence.
The lack of an SIA and CBA for those on-foot applications will result in the application being deemed ‘not properly made’ and its assessment process paused. Assessment will not resume until the proponent submits a compliant SIA and CBA, potentially introducing significant delays not already accounted for in existing project timelines. In some cases, an SIA and CBA may not be required if social impacts are deemed unlikely, but this decision rests with the chief executive under the Planning Act.
As the assessment manager for wind and large-scale solar farm applications, SARA could also require additional measures to mitigate or counterbalance social impacts by imposing conditions on a development approval. This would apply only when there is no CBA in place, or when social impacts have materially changed since the SIA was prepared. Appeal rights for conditions related to social impacts are limited to the applicant, not third parties.
Uncertainties
At this stage, there does not appear to be a proposal to retrospectively make an on-foot code assessable solar farm application impact assessable when the reforms commence, however this should be monitored as the reforms progress.
Even if impact assessment is not applied retrospectively, the Planning Minister may elect to ‘call in’ on-foot code assessable solar farm applications under the Planning Act, to ensure a rigorous assessment with sound community engagement occurs (as has happened recently for a number of code assessable wind farm applications).
Other key matters which are currently unclear and will need to be confirmed as the reforms progress include:
- how change applications to existing development approvals for solar farms are intended to be assessed. The recent amendments which made all wind farms impact assessable extended to ‘other change’ applications for existing wind farm approvals, but not to ‘minor change’ applications. We expect the position may be the same for solar; and
- where a solar farm application that will meet the new ‘large-scale’ definition is under assessment by a local government at the time the reforms commence, and is deemed ‘not properly made’ and paused while the proponent fulfils the retrospective SIA and CBA requirements, whether that application will continue to be assessed by the local government or move to SARA once the SIA and CBA requirements are met.
What happens next?
The Queensland Government has released a suite of factsheets and guidelines for the proposed reforms here.
Notably:
- the changes relating to impact assessment and SARA’s role for solar farms (including the changes in PDA areas) are contained within the Draft Amending Regulation, which the Crisafulli Government can make at any time; whereas
- the changes relating to mandatory community benefits are contained within the Bill, which must be passed by a vote of Queensland Parliament.
The Bill has been referred to the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee for consideration. Public submissions can be made on the Bill until 12pm on 20 May 2025, with the Committee expected to deliver its report on the Bill by 20 June 2025. Feedback is also being sought on amendments to the DA Rules between 6 May 2025 and 3 June 2025.
We encourage renewable energy proponents and investors to examine the reforms and consider making submissions on issues of concern, and start factoring social impact obligations, community benefit negotiations, potential approval delays and third-party appeal risks into project planning. Consideration should also be given to whether wind and solar projects can be located within PDAs, to take advantage of the proposed change to ‘accepted development’ in these areas.
If you would like further advice or assistance in responding to these reforms, please get in touch.
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