Practices and principles for progressive mine rehabilitation and completion criteria

The Queensland Government is reviewing the regulatory framework for the rehabilitation of mined land. Part of the proposed framework is an auditing process to monitor and report on the progress of rehabilitation on site-specific mine sites. The department is developing a guideline about auditor practices and principles which will assist in the implementation of the proposed rehabilitation policy.
It is intended that the guideline will provide certainty on the qualifications and knowledge of an auditor, be based on best practice industry standards (if applicable), provide clear standardised auditing procedures, minimise regulatory burden while supporting efficient regulation, and underpin better performance management and rehabilitation outcomes of mined land.
The guideline will support the implementation of the new rehabilitation policy by ensuring regular monitoring and assessment, good quality data collection and facilitating sign off of progressive milestones and final completion criteria for the surrender process.
Expert and specialist knowledge is needed to research, evaluate and recommend standards and practices for best practice auditor activities that are feasible in Queensland.