The Australian Government's environmental impact assessment (EIA) regime: Using surveys to identify proponent views on cost-effectiveness

The Australian Government introduced a new project-based EIA regime in July 2000. Since its introduction, there has been a robust debate about its environmental effectiveness. To add to this debate, a survey was conducted of proponents of projects that were regulated under the regime between 16 July 2000 and 10 June 2009. The survey sought proponents' views on whether the regime improved the environmental outcomes of regulated actions and the costs they incurred in relation to the process. This article outlines the method applied in conducting the survey and presents key results. It also discusses the methodological issues associated with EIA cost-effectiveness studies. The results suggest that proponents believe the federal EIA regime is environmentally ineffective, producing significant improvements in environmental outcomes in only 11% of cases. The information supplied by respondents also suggests that average proponent costs were high, ranging between AU$130,000 and AU$2,230,000 per regulated action.