- Crisafulli Government delivers consistent and transparent assessment for battery energy storage systems through new planning rules.
- Rules will ensure communities have strong voice through public consultation.
- Councils empowered to have a greater role in negotiation and decision making around community benefits.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a fresh start for Queensland and a better lifestyle through a stronger economy.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering on its election commitment to ensure renewable energy projects are impact assessable with approval processes consistent with other land uses like mining and agriculture.
The latest changes will empower communities on battery energy storage systems (BESS) development, aligning its planning framework with the rigorous assessments already in place for other renewable energy projects.
Building on reforms introduced for wind and solar projects earlier this year, these changes will ensure consistent assessment, manage social and agricultural impacts, and give communities and local governments a stronger voice in decision-making.
Under the Planning (Battery Storage Facilities) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation 2025, large stand-alone BESS projects (50MW or more) must now undertake social impact assessment and agree with the local government on community benefits before lodging a development application.
All large-scale standalone BESS projects will also be impact assessable, meaning mandatory community consultation and a consistent approach to assessment.
Currently, BESS projects can be assessed against 77 different sets of rules – depending on the local government's planning scheme, many of which weren't approved to consider this new form of project development.
Several Councils, including the Local Government Association of Queensland expressly called for BESS projects to be included in our renewable energy planning reforms in July.
To ensure consistency across Queensland, the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) will now manage all application assessments for these projects, guided by a new State Code 27 that sets clear benchmarks for safety, bushfire risk, noise, and agricultural impacts.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the changes were about fairness, safety, and ensuring communities had confidence in the planning process, which they previously didn't under Labor.
"Labor ran roughshod over local governments and communities for a decade, but the Crisafulli Government is finally giving them a voice when it comes to renewable energy projects in their backyards," Deputy Premier Bleijie said.
"Labor's lack of consultation created frustration and eroded trust in the planning process, leaving communities feeling powerless in shaping projects that affected their environment and lifestyle.
"The Crisafulli Government's changes make sure BESS projects are assessed consistently and transparently, removing delays and providing certainty for industry and communities.
"After being shut out of the decision-making process by Labor, we're giving communities a stronger voice and empowering local governments to play a greater role in managing social impacts, negotiating community benefits, ensuring projects deliver the best outcomes for communities."
Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Alison Smith welcomed the Crisafulli Government's decision to mandate for local councils to be actively involved in decision-making on battery storage developments.
"Local communities, through their councils, deserve the right to have a strong voice on any developments that impact them," Ms Smith said.
"The LGAQ is member driven and the inclusion of battery storage in the government's renewable energy planning reforms is something our member councils have been seeking, so we thank the government for listening.
"We look forward to working with the government and our members on implementing these changes."
Key changes include:
- Applying the community benefit system to a material change of use of premises for a battery storage facility (50MW or more).
- Making BESS development impact assessable, other than small scale battery storage facilities, which will be accepted development as is currently the case.
- Making the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) the assessment manager for assessable battery storage facility developments.
- Introducing the new State Code 27: Battery Storage Facilities into the State Development Assessment Provisions (SDAP). The code provides specific assessment benchmarks that must be considered where the state is the assessment manager for Battery Storage Facilities.
- Transitional arrangements are consistent with the prior transitional framework for solar farms, requiring all existing BESS applications over 50MW to complete a Social Impact Assessment and Community Benefit Agreement, before an application can be lodged with SARA for assessment, with any applications under 50MW still assessable by local governments.
The new changes will take effect from Friday 12 December 2025.
