Project overview*
| EIS status | Approved with conditions |
| Description | Expansion of the existing New Acland open-cut coal mine producing between 5.1 to 7.5 Mtpa**. |
| Proponent | New Acland Coal Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of New Hope Corporation Limited |
| Location/s | 35 km north-west of Toowoomba. Map |
| Local government/s | Toowoomba Regional Council |
| Investment | $556 million |
| Key features |
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| Jobs |
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* Project information supplied by proponent and subject to change.
** The approvals being sought for the Stage 3 project would permit production of up to 7.5 mtpa of product coal. Citing current mine planning and economic conditions, New Acland Coal Pty Ltd has advised they do not propose to produce above 5.1 Mtpa, however production rates will be reassessed throughout the life of the project. Investment and jobs numbers are based on a 5.1 mtpa production rate.
Project revised
The original terms of reference (TOR) for the project's EIS were finalised in October 2007 and New Acland Coal submitted the original EIS to the Coordinator-General in November 2009.
However, in response to concerns raised in March 2012 by the incoming Queensland Government about the project's potential impacts, the proponent revised the project, including reducing its scope.
New Acland Coal also proposed to move the existing Jondaryan rail coal load-out facility onto the mine site. An eight-kilometre rail spur would connect the facility to the existing rail line.
Due to the revisions, the Coordinator-General's environmental impact assessment of the project recommenced. New TOR for an EIS were finalised in March 2013, following public consultation.
On 9 November 2012 the then Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities confirmed it had accepted the revised project proposal.
Project changes
Since the publication of the Coordinator-General's report on the EIS, the proponent has applied for changes to the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 project.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 27 October 2025 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change ( 1.9 MB) released. |
| 12 April 2025 to 22 May 2025 | Project change application ( 22.9 MB) public consultation.
|
| 11 March 2025 | Proponent’s change application submitted. |
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 26 May 2022 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change released ( 4.4 MB), approving the change.
|
| 30 March 2022 | Proponent’s change application submitted ( 31 MB). |
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 29 September 2020 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change released ( 5.8 MB), approving the change.
|
| 8 May 2019 | Proponent’s change application submitted ( 522 KB). |
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 17 September 2020 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change released ( 1.1 MB), approving the change.
|
| 22 June 2019 to 21 July 2019 |
Public consultation on project change application ( 1.1 MB).
|
| 24 May 2019 | Proponent’s change application submitted. |
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 12 February 2019 | Coordinator-General's report on project change released ( 336 KB), approving the change.
|
| 3 December 2018 | Proponent’s change application submitted ( 2.9 MB). |
Environmental impact statement (EIS) process
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 27 October 2025 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change application 5 ( 1.9 MB) released, approving the change.
|
| 26 May 2022 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change application 4 (
4.3 MB) released, approving the change.
|
| 29 September 2020 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change application 3 ( 0.5 MB) released, approving the change.
|
| 17 September 2020 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change application 2 ( 0.8 MB) released, approving the change.
|
| 17 September 2020 | The Coordinator-General stated a new lapse date for the Coordinator-General’s EIS evaluation report of 19 December 2022. |
| 12 February 2019 | Coordinator-General’s report on project change application 1 ( 4.13 MB) released, approving
the change
|
| 11 December 2018 | The Coordinator-General stated a new lapse date for the Coordinator-General’s EIS evaluation report of 19 December 2020. |
| 18 January 2017 | Commonwealth Minister for the Environment's approval of 'controlled action' subject to conditions following re-consideration of project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. |
| 19 December 2014 | Coordinator-General’s report on final EIS ( 4.13 MB) released. Final information provided by proponent Oct-Dec 2014. |
|
1 September 2014 to 29 September 2014 | Additional information to EIS and EIS released for public and advisory agency review and submission. |
|
18 January 2014 to 3 March 2014 |
New draft EIS public consultation
|
| 22 March 2013 |
New terms of reference for EIS ( 447 KB) released
|
|
1 December 2012 to 4 February 2013 | New draft terms of reference for EIS public consultation. |
| 14 November 2012 |
Confirmation by state government that, due to revisions to the project, including reductions to its scope, the EIS process would restart at the draft terms of reference for EIS stage. Read the revised project overview ( 2.14 MB)
|
| 9 November 2012 | Revisions to project proposal accepted by Commonwealth Minister for the Environment. |
|
14 November 2009 to 3 February 2010 |
Original EIS public consultation
|
| 24 October 2007 |
Original terms of reference for EIS ( 575 KB) released.
|
|
21 July 2007 to 20 August 2007 | Original draft terms of reference for EIS public consultation. |
| 24 May 2007 |
Project deemed a controlled action by Commonwealth Minister for the Environment.
 |
| 18 May 2007 |
Gazettal of 'coordinated project' declaration ( 176 KB)
|
| 24 April 2007 |
Application, including initial advice statement ( 483 KB), submitted.
|
| 23 April 2007 | Project referred to Commonwealth Minister for the Environment. |
Read more about the EIS process.
EIS process
In May 2007 the Coordinator-General declared the project a 'coordinated project' under section 26 of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (Qld).
The Commonwealth Minister for the Environment has determined that the project (EPBC 2007/3423) is likely to have a significant impact upon matters of national environmental significance, and will require approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) before it can proceed.
The relevant matters of national environmental significance under Part 3 of the EPBC Act are listed threatened species and communities (sections 18 and 18A) and water resources (sections 24D and 24E).
The Minister will rely on the outcomes of the Coordinator-General's impact assessment process, including any public submissions, in making a decision.
Separate EIS for water pipeline
The construction of a water pipeline from the Wetalla Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Toowoomba to the mine (one component of the project) was expedited by the proponent, in accordance with provisions of Part 4 of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 in place at the time.
These Act provisions allowed proponents to prepare a separate environmental impact statement (EIS) that addressed the terms of reference relating to a particular component of a project.
The Coordinator-General recommended construction of the Wetalla Water Pipeline proceed, subject to conditions and recommendations.
The Coordinator-General completed his evaluation of the rest of the project on 19 December 2014.
New Acland Coal Stage 3 project’s Environmental Impact Assessment documents
- Table of Contents ( 200 KB)
- Chapter 01 – Introduction ( 8.4 MB)
- Chapter 02 – AEIS Structure ( 282 KB)
- Chapter 03 – Revised Project Amendments ( 3.3 MB)
- Chapter 04 – Project Approvals ( 344 KB)
- Chapter 5.1 - Key Issues requiring further clarification ( 56 MB)
- Chapter 5.2 - Advisory Agency Responses ( 67 MB)
- Chapter 5.3 - Other Responses ( 6.7 MB)
- Chapter 06 – Errata ( 9.5 MB)
- Chapter 07 – References ( 292 KB)
- Abbreviations ( 231 KB)
- Appendix A – Revised Regulatory Approvals Plans ( 25 MB)
- Appendix A1– Submission Analysis Register ( 2.5 MB)
- Appendix B – Koala Management Plan Acland Mine ( 46 MB)
- Appendix C – Revised Environmental Management Plan ( 48 MB)
- Appendix D – Commitments Register ( 1.1 MB)
- Appendix E– Social Impact Management Plan ( 26 MB)
- Appendix F – Update Groundwater Modelling – Technical Report ( 44.9 MB)
- Appendix G – Additional Landholder Bore Survey ( 79 MB)
- Appendix H – Groundwater Monitoring and Impact Management Plan ( 30 MB)
- Appendix I – Acland Management Plan ( 64.9 MB)
- Appendix J – Intersection Counts ( 206 KB)
- Appendix K– SIDRA summary ( 3.1 MB)
- Appendix L – Threatened Species Translocational Plan ( 32 MB)
- Appendix M – Revised Biodiversity Offset Strategy ( 15 MB)
- Appendix N – IESC Submission Response ( 47.7 MB)
- Appendix O – Tank Water Quality Sampling Results ( 106 KB)
Volume 1
- Executive Summary ( 4.8 MB)
- Table of Contents ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 01 – Introduction ( 6.6 MB)
- Chapter 02 – Project Justification and Sustainability ( 4.7 MB)
- Chapter 03 – Project Description ( 26.6 MB)
- Chapter 04 – Land Resources ( 12.7 MB)
- Chapter 05 – Surface Water Resources ( 61.1 MB)
- Chapter 06 – Groundwater Resources ( 13.4 MB)
- Chapter 07 – Terrestrial Resources ( 12.6 MB)
Volume 2
- Chapter 08 – Aquatic Ecology ( 3.9 MB)
- Chapter 09 – Air quality ( 7.4 MB)
- Chapter 10 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 11 – Noise and Vibration ( 14.5 MB)
- Chapter 12 – Cultural Heritage ( 2.2 MB)
- Chapter 13 – Traffic and Transport ( 4.4 MB)
- Chapter 14 – Waste Management ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 15 – Visual Amenity ( 10.8 MB)
- Chapter 16 – Social Environment ( 2.2 MB)
- Chapter 17 – Economics ( 3.4 MB)
- Chapter 18 – Health Safety and Risk ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 19 – Community Consultation ( 1.6 MB)
- Chapter 20 – Cumulative Impacts ( 1.7 MB)
- Chapter 21 - Environmental Management Plan ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 22 - Conclusions and Recommendations ( 1.3 MB)
- Chapter 23 - References ( 1.3 MB)
- Glossary and Abbreviations ( 95 KB)
Volume 3
- Appendix A - Corporate Information ( 6.7 MB)
- Appendix B - Study Team ( 2.1 MB)
- Appendix C - Project Regulatory Approval Plan ( 4.2 MB)
- Appendix D - Terms of Reference ( 2.5 MB)
- Appendix E - Terms of Reference Cross Reference Table ( 2.6 MB)
- Appendix F - Project Key Policies and Guidelines ( 2.1 MB)
- Appendix G - Supporting Technical Reports and Data
- G.1 Land Resources ( 22.7 MB)
- G.2 Geochemistry ( 8.9 MB)
- G.3 Surface Water ( 2.1 MB)
- G.4 Groundwater
- G4.1 Aquifer Testing Report ( 3.6 MB)
- G4.2 Landholder Bore Survey Results ( 38.1 MB)
- G4.3 WSA Water Quality Lab Reports ( 3.1 MB)
- G4.4 Stage 3 Groundwater Quality Lab Reports ( 2.1 MB)
- G4.5 Groundwater Numerical Modelling Report ( 22.8 MB)
- G4.1 Aquifer Testing Report (
- G.1 Land Resources (
Volume 4
- Appendix G - Supporting Technical Reports and Data
- G.5 Terrestrial Ecology ( 12.2 MB)
- G.6 Air Quality ( 5.5 MB)
- G.7 Noise and Vibration ( 2.8 MB)
- G.8 Traffic ( 32.4 MB)
- G.9 Economics ( 2.1 MB)
- G.10 Hazard and Risk ( 2.3 MB)
- G.5 Terrestrial Ecology (
- Appendix H - EPBC Act Assessment
- H.1 MNES Report ( 59.9 MB)
- H.2 IESC Submission ( 49.3 MB)
- H.1 MNES Report (
- Appendix I - Biodiversity Offset Strategy ( 6.3 MB)
Volume 5
- Appendix J - Environmental Management Framework
- J.1 In-Pit Tailing Storage Facility Management Plan ( 2.5 MB)
- J.2 Final Land Management and Rehabilitation Plan ( 8.5 MB)
- J.3 Topsoil Management Plan ( 3.6 MB)
- J.4 Water Resources Management Plan ( 3.8 MB)
- J.5 Groundwater Monitoring and Impact Management Plan ( 3.3 MB)
- J.6 Conservation Zone Management Plan ( 5.1 MB)
- J.7 Threaten Species Translational Plan ( 3.2 MB)
- J.8 Bluegrass Offset Management Plan ( 3.8 MB)
- J.9 Pest and Weed Management Plan ( 2.8 MB)
- J.10 Air Quality Management Plan ( 6.3 MB)
- J.11 Noise and Vibration Management Plan ( 2.7 MB)
- J.12 Acland colliery Conservation Management Plan ( 10.1 MB)
- J.13 Waste Management Plan ( 1.8 MB)
- J.14 Social Impact Management Plan ( 2 MB)
- J.15 Emergency Management Plan ( 8.4 MB)
- J.16 Strategic and Corporate Risk Management Framework ( 3 MB)
- J.17 Aviation Hazard Management Plan ( 4.5 MB)
- J.18 Local Stakeholder Management Plan ( 1.8 MB)
- J.19 Environmental Management Plan ( 13.1 MB)
- J.1 In-Pit Tailing Storage Facility Management Plan (
- Appendix K - Consultation ( 28.4 MB)
- Appendix L - Proponent Commitments ( 4.6 MB)
Review of New Acland Mine Stage 3 EIS Evaluation Report
The Queensland Government made a commitment to scrutinise the approvals process for the New Acland Mine Stage 3 project.
The review considered the EIS Evaluation Report of the Coordinator-General as a step in the ongoing approval process for the project. The EIS Evaluation Report itself is not an approval. The proponent will need to obtain a number of approvals before the project can proceed; including the Commonwealth Environment Minister's approval.
The scope of the review was set by the terms of reference.
The terms of reference provided that the review consider the documents or other material held by the Coordinator-General relating to the EIS Evaluation Report. Therefore, the reviewer undertook a 'desk top review' and did not take oral evidence, invite submissions or hold hearings. View the report ( 943 KB).
The Coordinator-General responded ( 1.06 MB) to the findings of the review with detailed information about his evaluation of the EIS.
Personal information has been removed from the review and response documents. The Queensland Government is committed to protecting privacy and does not disclose personal information unless the disclosure is authorised, required by law or is permitted under the Information Privacy Act 2009. In some cases, to protect the privacy of individuals, it has been necessary to exclude whole attachments.
- Administrative review of the EIS evaluation report ( 943 KB)
- Annexure A - terms of reference ( 63.5 KB)
- Annexure B - Index of documents provided by the CG's office ( 5.15 MB)
- Annexure C - CG correspondence confirming all documents provided ( 117 KB)
- Annexure D - correspondence clarifying documents ( 202 KB)
- Annexure E - Crown Law correspondence regarding submissions received after the AEIS ( 22.7 KB)
- Annexure F - CG correspondence dated 5 June 2015 ( 454 KB)
- Coordinator-General's response ( 1.06 MB)
- Attachment 1 - Relevant sections of briefing note dated 17 April 2014 ( 12.8 MB)
- Attachment 2 - Relevant sections of briefing note dated 27 August 2014 ( 13.8 MB)
- Attachment 3 - AEIS submissions analysis database has not been included to protect personal information
- Attachment 4a - Request seeking further information dated 23 September 2014 ( 27 MB)
- Attachment 4b - Request seeking further information dated 2 October 2014 ( 4.95 MB)
- Attachment 4c - Request seeking further information dated 8 October 2014 ( 7.33 MB)
- Attachment 4d - Request seeking further information dated 4 November 2014 ( 20.3 MB)
- Attachment 5 - Project information clarification to the AEIS dated December 2014 ( 23.4 MB)
- Attachment 6a - Summary of key issues in AEIS submissions ( 534 KB)
- Attachment 6B - AEIS submission analysis summary ( 135 KB)
- Attachment 7 - Coordinator-General's evaluation report ( 8.67 MB)
- Attachment 8 - Body of briefing note dated 19 December 2014 ( 5.74 MB)
- Attachment 9 - Project memorandum No. 3 ( 13.0 MB)
The Department of Natural Resources and Mines separately commissioned, and has released a Rapid Social Benefit-Cost Analysis Report on the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3.