The purpose of these instructions is to assist proponents to prepare an Environmental Review Document (ERD), which is required where the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has decided that the proponent must undertake an environmental review under section 40(2)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). The instructions sets out the standard form and content that an ERD must contain to ensure consistency for EPA decision-making and to set out the expectations for proponents and the community.
The template attached to these instructions provides the structure of the ERD, including required tables and figures. The EPA expects that the ERD contains the content outlined in the template in addition to any proposal-specific requirements specified in the approved Environmental Scoping Document.
The EPA expects that proponents follow the ERD template.
This template is to be used for new, significant amendments and strategic proposals.
This version has been updated to reflect the EPA's new Environmental Impact Assessment Practice Guide Assessment of Proposals in Western Australia under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EIA Practice Guide), which comes into effect on 1 January 2026. The EIA Practice Guide implements a streamlined method of providing the EPA the necessary information for decision-making and assessment, achieved by providing a single assessment document (an Environmental Review Document) that will now cover both the referral and assessment stages. This version of the instructions has been updated to outline this new process.
Printer-friendly version