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Renewable Energy Approvals in WA: New SDAU Rules
By Michael Taylforth | Land Insights
From 5 October 2026, major renewable energy projects and associated infrastructure valued at $20 million or more will generally be required to use Western Australia’s Significant Development Pathway.
The change follows the introduction of the Planning and Development (Significant Development) Amendment Regulations 2026, which amend the existing Planning and Development (Significant Development) Regulations 2024.
For qualifying projects, development applications will be assessed by the Significant Development Assessment Unit (SDAU) and determined by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC), rather than by a local government or Development Assessment Panel.
The changes will affect how proponents plan their approvals, engage with government agencies and coordinate the technical studies needed to support an application.
What projects are affected?
The mandatory pathway applies to developments that include one or more of the following facilities:
- Renewable energy facilities, including wind and solar farms.
- Battery facilities.
- Electricity transmission systems.
- Hydrogen production facilities.
- Ammonia production facilities.
The relevant threshold is an estimated development cost of $20 million or more for the qualifying facility or facilities.
Where a proposal includes more than one qualifying facility, their combined estimated cost is used. For example, a solar farm with associated battery storage and transmission infrastructure may trigger the mandatory pathway even if the individual components would each fall below $20 million.
The requirement applies to qualifying projects across metropolitan and regional Western Australia. A $25 million solar farm proposed in regional WA is therefore subject to the same mandatory assessment pathway as a $25 million battery facility proposed in Perth.
The regulations expressly exclude land within the Swan Valley Planning Scheme area from the mandatory provisions. Existing restrictions on the availability of the Part 11B pathway, including for certain public works and land subject to improvement schemes, planning control areas or redevelopment authority arrangements, should also be checked where relevant.
What happens to projects below $20 million?
Renewable energy projects below the $20 million threshold are not captured by the new mandatory provisions.
However, some projects may still be eligible to use the Significant Development Pathway voluntarily.
For projects outside the Perth and Peel region scheme areas and the Swan Valley Planning Scheme area, the existing threshold for access to the pathway is generally $5 million. This means a regional solar or wind project valued between $5 million and $20 million may be eligible for assessment by the SDAU, but is not required to use that pathway.
Projects valued at $2 million or more may also be eligible for assessment by a Development Assessment Panel. Other proposals will generally be determined by the relevant local government.
The distinction is important: the $5 million regional threshold relates to optional access, while the $20 million threshold determines when the renewable energy pathway becomes mandatory.
How will applications be assessed?
Applications will be assessed under Part 11B of the Planning and Development Act 2005.
The SDAU coordinates the assessment and prepares recommendations for the WAPC, with decisions generally made by the WAPC’s Statutory Planning Committee.
Relevant State agencies are consulted through the State Referral Coordination Unit. This provides a coordinated process for addressing matters such as environmental impacts, transport, infrastructure, land use compatibility and other agency requirements.
The pathway also requires pre-lodgement consultation.
Depending on the project, this may involve an initial meeting, written advice or a more detailed engagement process to identify the technical information required before an application is submitted.
For renewable energy developments, early discussions are likely to be particularly relevant where projects involve native vegetation, environmental constraints, agricultural land, sensitive land uses, transport infrastructure or cumulative impacts.
What is the assessment timeframe?
The statutory assessment period is 120 days, unless a longer period is agreed between the applicant and the WAPC.
However, this period does not begin when early discussions commence or when an incomplete application is submitted. It begins when the application is accepted for assessment, with the required supporting information and application fee in place.
Pre-lodgement engagement and the preparation of technical studies therefore need to be allowed for separately when developing project schedules.
For complex proposals, the quality and coordination of this work can have a significant influence on the overall approvals timeframe.
What role will local government and the community have?
The change in decision-maker does not remove local government or community involvement.
Local governments may participate in pre-lodgement discussions and are formally consulted after an application is lodged. Under the Part 11B process, the relevant local government is generally provided with 60 days to comment.
Applications are also advertised for public comment, with departmental guidance indicating that consultation is generally expected to occur for at least 28 days.
Local planning considerations, community concerns and submissions from affected landowners will therefore remain relevant to the assessment.
For proponents, this means early engagement with local government and the community should remain part of the project strategy, regardless of who determines the application.
What happens to applications lodged before 5 October 2026?
Applications lodged before 5 October 2026 can continue to be assessed under their existing pathway.
This means a development application already lodged with a local government or Development Assessment Panel will not automatically move to the Significant Development Pathway when the new regulations commence.
However, the application must have been properly lodged, with the required information and applicable fee. Preliminary discussions or an incomplete submission will not preserve the existing pathway.
An application already lodged with a local government or Development Assessment Panel cannot simply be transferred to the SDAU. If a proponent wishes to pursue the Part 11B pathway instead, the existing application would need to be withdrawn and a new application lodged.
Pre-lodgement discussions for applications that will use the new mandatory pathway can commence before 5 October.
For projects approaching the lodgement stage, the appropriate response will depend on the proposal, the existing assessment work and whether there is a genuine advantage in proceeding under the current pathway.
How does the Renewable Energy Planning Code fit in?
The draft Renewable Energy Planning Code is a separate reform from the change to the assessment pathway.
The Code is intended to establish a more consistent planning framework for renewable energy infrastructure, but it has not yet been finalised.
Its detailed development standards currently focus on wind farms, including matters such as noise, landscape impacts, the natural environment, aviation, transport, construction and decommissioning.
Further sections addressing transmission infrastructure, solar farms and battery energy storage systems are identified for future preparation.
Until the Code is finalised and incorporated into the applicable planning framework, proposals must continue to be assessed against existing statutory and policy requirements.
The Department has also indicated that applicants should address relevant provisions of the draft Code as a seriously entertained planning instrument.
For wind farm proponents, this means the emerging standards should already inform project design and the scope of supporting technical studies. For other renewable energy proposals, the draft Code’s general provisions may still be relevant even though the detailed standards for those technologies have not yet been prepared.
Coordinating the wider approvals process
Development approval is only one component of the approvals process for major renewable energy projects.
Depending on the site and proposal, separate requirements may include native vegetation clearing permits, referral to the Environmental Protection Authority, water licensing, Aboriginal heritage approvals and other environmental or infrastructure-related approvals.
These processes operate independently of the planning assessment and may have different information requirements and timeframes.
For many projects, effective coordination of technical studies and agency engagement will be just as important as the choice of planning pathway. Aligning environmental investigations, stakeholder consultation and development application requirements early can help reduce duplication and avoid delays later in the process.
Land Insights assists proponents with planning and environmental approvals, project definition, agency engagement and the preparation of development applications for renewable energy and infrastructure projects across Western Australia.
If you would like to discuss how these changes may affect a current or proposed project, please contact the Land Insights team.
Link to DPLH
Link to Regulations