Regulatory Radar

Resources proponents considering critical minerals projects in Queensland, together with their financiers and contractors, could review whether a proposed project may qualify for the new declaration pathway under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act, and how that pathway interacts with existing environmental, native title and mining tenure approvals. Project financing teams may wish to factor the coordinated approval route into due diligence and project timetables where relevant. Businesses already holding declarations or approvals under the existing state development framework may also want to check whether the amendments affect projects already in train.

Workplace health and safety teams could check which approved codes of practice their safety management systems, inductions and contractor documents currently reference, and confirm those references still match the current Queensland list following this amendment. Where an approved code relevant to the business's operations has been added, varied or withdrawn, procedures, training materials and audit checklists built around the previous code may need updating. Officers with due diligence obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act may also wish to confirm that board or management reporting on safety compliance reflects the codes now in force, rather than a superseded version.

Lenders, purchasers and their advisers considering a claim against a Queensland valuer who is a member of the Australian Property Institute Valuers Limited may wish to check whether the professional standards scheme cap applies to the conduct in question and whether the valuer held the insurance required under the scheme at the relevant time. Because the specific monetary cap and conditions of the 2026 notice have not been independently verified for this briefing, it would be prudent to review the scheme document and notice directly before relying on any liability limit when advising on a potential claim.