Expenditure exemption guidelines updated for greater clarity

Revised guidelines assist tenement holders of exploration and prospecting licences
Date: Monday, 21 December 2020

The department has revised the guidelines it published to support temporary amendments to the Mining Act Regulations 1981 introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State Government initiative came into effect on 1 July 2020 and will expire on 30 June 2021.

Under the revised regulations, tenement holders of exploration and prospecting licences can apply for expenditure exemptions if they are able to provide a statement and evidence that COVID-19 has affected their ability to meet their expenditure conditions with their application.

The required statement and evidence replace the need for stakeholders to lodge a statutory declaration.

The temporary amendments also reduce the time allowed for an objection to be lodged from 35 days to 14 days, and allow for all exemption applications to be published online.

The department developed the guidelines to assist stakeholders through the new process and to ensure their applications remained high quality.

Based on industry feedback, the guidelines have been revised to provide clearer guidance and to minimise departmental requests for additional information.

The revised guidelines are available on DMIRS website.