Data as at 14 September 2026 · from the Queensland EP Act public register
Queensland's mining approvals, measured
How many approvals there are, what sits beneath them, how long the department takes to assess them, and what they commit the land to — counted from the register's own documents.
How the approvals fit together
Read as text
- Tenure (Mineral Resources Act 1989): exploration permits, mineral development licences, mining leases and mining claims.
- Environmental authority (Environmental Protection Act 1994): 3,163 live; authorises the activity on the tenure and sets conditions, either in its own instrument (1,655) or by adopting standard conditions (1,055).
- Standard conditions documents: the eligibility criteria and standard conditions since 2016, and the retired Codes of environmental compliance, which 489 authorities still adopt.
- PRC plan: required for mining lease activities; 154 approved. It contains a planning part (not published on the register) and a PRCP schedule (151 current) setting milestones for 1,319 rehabilitation and improvement areas covering 344,586 ha.
- Assessment: application, information request, optional extension, applicant response, decision. Median 162 days from receipt to the first request and 557 days from receipt to the plan taking effect.
What is approved: live environmental authorities by tenure
Show the numbers
| Tenure | Authorities |
|---|---|
| Exploration permit | 1,839 |
| Mining lease | 836 |
| Mineral development licence | 167 |
| Mining claim | 12 |
| Not stated | 309 |
How long a PRC plan takes: median days in each stage
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| Stage | Median days | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt to first information request | 162 | 16 |
| Time allowed to respond | 186 | 18 |
| Response due to plan in effect | 111 | 18 |
What is committed: when current PRCP schedules finish rehabilitation
Show the numbers
| Decade | Schedules |
|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 |
| 2030s | 28 |
| 2040s | 32 |
| 2050s | 22 |
| 2060s | 16 |
| 2070s | 14 |
| 2080s | 6 |
| 2090s | 7 |
| 2100s | 3 |
| 2110s | 2 |
| 2120s | 3 |
| 2130s | 1 |
| 2140s | 3 |
| 2150s | 1 |
The approval system, from the top down
Every environmental authority sets conditions for an activity. Mining lease authorities also need a progressive rehabilitation and closure (PRC) plan, whose schedule fixes rehabilitation milestones. Plans are assessed through applications, where the department can request more information and extend deadlines.
- 3,163live coal and minerals environmental authorities430 coal, 2,733 minerals; 435 granted but not yet in effectExplore →
- 836sit on a mining lease131 hold an approved PRC plan; the other 2,327 live authorities are exploration, development and claim authoritiesExplore →
- 154approved PRC plans81 coal, 73 mineralsExplore →
- 151current PRCP schedules1,319 rehabilitation and improvement areas covering 344,586 haExplore →
- 120PRC plan applications with documents on the register92 new or transitional plans, 28 amendmentsExplore →
- 624information request itemsfrom 19 notices; 30 extension notices on 20 applicationsExplore →
- 273applicant replies read item by itemfrom 13 of 77 response documents publishedExplore →
Where time, effort and transparency are lost
Figures from the register's documents, each with its base. Select one to see the detail.
Durations come from dates printed in departmental notices; only applications whose notices state both dates are counted. The register is a snapshot as at the build date.
Look up any approval
Every authority, PRC plan and standard conditions document has its own page with its conditions, schedule and correspondence, linked to the source documents.
Quick answers
Direct answers from the register as at 14 September 2026.
How many environmental authorities are there for coal and minerals in Queensland?
As at 14 September 2026 the public register lists 3,163 live coal and minerals environmental authorities: 430 coal and 2,733 minerals. 836 sit on a mining lease; most of the rest are for exploration. 435 have been granted but are not yet in effect.
How long does it take to get a PRC plan approved in Queensland?
For the 22 new or transitional PRC plan applications whose notices state both dates, the median time from the department receiving the application to the plan taking effect was 557 days (range 302 to 1,728). The median wait before the department's first information request was 162 days (16 applications).
How many items are in a DETSI information request on a PRC plan?
Across 18 information request notices on the register, the median notice contains 28 items and the largest 68; 624 items in all. 30 extension notices have been issued on 20 applications.
How many PRC plans have been approved?
154 coal and minerals PRC plans are approved (81 coal, 73 minerals), with 151 current PRCP schedules covering 344,586 hectares of rehabilitation and improvement areas. 131 of 836 mining lease authorities hold a plan.
When do PRCP schedules require rehabilitation to be finished?
Of 143 current schedules with a dated final milestone, 78 (55%) finish after 2050 and 13 after 2100. 17,771 hectares (5% of scheduled land) are non-use management areas or voids that will not be rehabilitated to a post-mining land use.
Are old Codes of environmental compliance still in force?
Yes. The Codes were replaced by the eligibility criteria and standard conditions on 31 March 2016, but 489 live authorities still adopt a Code, 149 of them the original 2001 version.
Download the data
The numbers behind these pages. They are derived from documents on the Queensland Government's Environmental Protection Act public register, © State of Queensland, which the Queensland Government publishes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence unless otherwise noted; documents prepared by applicants and holders remain their authors'. Reuse of the underlying information is subject to those terms. If you use this index, please cite the Queensland Mining Approvals Index.
- authorities.csv Every live Queensland coal and minerals environmental authority: status, tenure, conditions basis, PRC plan and links.
- prcp-schedules.csv Every published PRCP schedule version for coal and minerals PRC plans, with its final rehabilitation milestone.
- rehabilitation-areas.csv Rehabilitation and improvement areas in current PRCP schedules: hectares, post-mining land use and first milestone.
- prcp-applications.csv PRC plan applications with assessment documents on the register: dates from their notices, extension notices and request items.
- metrics.json Headline metrics shown on the site's overview and level pages.