A statement released by Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Anthony Lynham confirmed the move along with the launch of a new electronic permit system.
Dr Lynham today announced the completion of the MyMinesOnline project, which he says has significantly reduced turnaround times on permits by up to 80 per cent.
“This is a real game changer for industry compared to the old days when paper forms had to be lodged over the counter,”? Dr Lynham said.
“MyMinesOnline now allows coal, mineral, petroleum and gas companies operating in Queensland to lodge applications for 72 different resource permit transactions electronically.
He said permit applications were taking as much as 22 months to process through the old over-the-counter paper lodgement system, and that the new online system would mean the process would be reduced down to less than six months if a native title process is not required.
The announcement comes weeks after Deloitte consulting director Geoffrey Cann told Queensland media permit obligations and red tape was costing the Queensland mining industry some $1 billion annually and about $4 billion nationally.
“The regulatory burden in Queensland is a specific concern,” Mr Cann told News Corp Australia on August 4.
“Excessive levels of overlapping rules, burdensome reporting and high compliance costs are all a drain on the economics of the industry,” he said.
“Costs need to move by 40 per cent or more to provide some margin to the projects,” Mr Cann said.