Major Development Proposals

Under Section 46 of the Development Act 1993, the Minister for Urban Development and Planning can declare a proposed development a 'Major Development' if he or she believes such a declaration is appropriate or necessary for proper assessment of the proposed development, and where the proposal is considered to be of major economic, social or environmental importance.

This triggers a thorough state-run assessment process with opportunity for public comment before any decision is made on whether the proposal warrants an approval.

The process is explained below, and also in this Community Information Sheet:

Assessment Process

No proposed development or project ‘automatically’ enters the Major Development or Major Project assessment path, no matter the nature, size or value of the proposal.

The Minister for Urban Development and Planning must ‘declare’ a development or project for it to be assessed under this path.

In most instances, the proponent of a proposal writes to the Minister to request a proposal be assessed using the Major Development provisions. A request to the Minister for declaration should outline the proposal and provide details as to why it satisfies the two criteria or ‘tests’ outlined in the Development Act (see below).

However, the Minister may also be asked by members of the community to consider making a declaration, or simply become aware of what appear to be important social, environmental, or economic issues associated with a development or project. The Minister would then seek further details from the development/project proponent. The Minister can also ‘declare’ an (already) approved development proposal, provided substantial work on the site has not commenced.

When deciding whether a development or project should be ‘declared’, the Minister applies two ‘tests’ outlined in Section 46(1) of the Development Act 1993.

The Minister must first form the opinion that the development or project is of ‘major environmental, social or economic importance’. Secondly, the Minister must form the view that such a declaration is ‘appropriate’ or ‘necessary’ for the ‘proper’ assessment of the proposal.

If the Minister decides that a Major Development or Major Project declaration is appropriate, this decision is published in the Government Gazette and publicised in appropriate local media. The Minister also has the power to vary or revoke declarations. 

A declaration of 'Major Development' means the Minister (assisted by Planning SA) will comprehensively assess the proposal and its impact using the following process (note: the Minister may, at any stage, ask the Governor to consider an 'early no' decision if it is clear to the Minister the proposal will have unacceptable impacts; there is no 'early yes' mechanism).

Stage 1 - Referral to the Development Assessment Commission for setting of assessment level and guidelines

Once a proposal has been declared a Major Development proposal by the Minister and the Development Application received, the Application is referred to the Development Assessment Commission (DAC).

The DAC is an independent statutory authority consisting of a group of people with a variety of expertise. More information about the DAC can be found on our Development Assessment Commission (DAC) page.

When considering a Major Development proposal referral, the DAC may be augmented by the appointment of one or two people by the Minister from a list of independent specialists, who have particular expertise in issues surrounding the sort of development being proposed. 

The augmented DAC will consider the application and identify the key social, environmental and economic issues relevant to the assessment of the proposed development. The DAC may consult with relevant State agencies as part of this process. It will then determine which level of further detailed assessment is required and issue formal assessment Guidelines.

The three possible levels of detailed assessment which can be required by the DAC are:

  • An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This is the level of assessment required for the most complex proposals, where there is a wide range of issues to be investigated in depth. If the project proponent is directed to prepare an EIS it must do so and then release it for public comment for at least six weeks, and hold a public meeting in an area close to the site of the proposed development.
  • A Public Environmental Report (PER). This level of assessment - sometimes referred to as a 'targeted EIS' - applies where the issues surrounding the proposal require investigation in depth but are narrower in scope and relatively well known, or there is existing information available. A PER must also be released for public comment for at least six weeks, and a public meeting held in an area close to the site of the proposed development.
  • A Development Report (DR). This is the least complex level of assessment, which relies principally on existing information. For a DR level of assessment, a meeting is not a statutory requirement and the report would need to be released for three weeks for public comment.

The DAC will publicly issue a Guidelines document to the proponent as to what level of assessment is required and what issues that assessment should address. This concludes the DAC's role (examples of Guidelines can be found on the pages for current and recent Major Development proposals).

(Note: prior to 14 December 2006 this particular role of the DAC was performed by a different statutory body, the Major Developments Panel, which ceased existence on that date)

Stage 2 - Proponent prepares and releases an Assessment document

The proponent will prepare an EIS, a PER or a DR, as directed by the Development Assessment Commission. The length of time it takes a proponent to prepare the assessment document is not set, and depends upon the level of assessment, the complexity of the proposal and the sensitivity of the site. A DR generally takes the shortest time, while an EIS takes the longest.

Once it is complete, the EIS, PER or DR is released for public and agency comment for either three (DR) or six weeks (EIS, PER) and made available at the relevant local council and on the Planning SA website. The mandated public meeting for an EIS or PER is held early in the exhibition period. 

Stage 3 - Responding to public comment on an EIS, PER or DR

After the appropriate public comment period on an EIS or PER, the proponent will then be required to respond to any public or agency comments (this is optional for a DR). The proponent’s Response Document will be released for public information and be available at the relevant local council and on the Planning SA website. The Response Document may include amendment to the EIS/PER/DR, or flag changes to the original proposal in response to issues raised. If substantial changes are made, they may require further public exhibition.

Stage 4 - Assessing the proposal

The Minister (with the assistance of Planning SA) will then assess the whole proposal, and detail that assessment in an Assessment Report. This Assessment Report will be publicly released and be available at the relevant local council and on the Planning SA website. It is common that a proposal will be refined in response to the Assessment Report.

Stage 5 - Decision

The Governor will make a decision on the final proposal (on the advice of the Minister and Cabinet) having regard to the Assessment Report and other documentation. This will be notified in the Government Gazette and on the Planning SA website, and notified to appropriate local media. The decision may take a variety of forms, including approving or rejecting the proposal, or approving with conditions attached. Some matters of detail may also be reserved for a later decision. There are no appeal rights against the decision of the Governor.