The Queensland Government’s Greentape Reduction Act has come into effect over this week, with the Government claiming that small businesses will start ‘saving thousands of dollars’.

State Environment Minister, Andrew Powell, said that the Act introduces a range of simplified environmental licensing procedures, and represents the most significant reform to the area in over a decade.

“The changes streamline application and approval processes under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, remove licence requirements for 20 environmentally relevant activities and introduce a new category of small scale mining activity which does not require an environmental authority,” Mr Powell said.

“The reforms do not lower environmental standards, but rather better match the approval requirements with the actual level of environmental risk of particular activities.

“The new environmental approval process will ensure greater flexibility, with up to 12,000 Queensland businesses freed from the requirement to obtain an environmental approval.”

Mr Powell said businesses such as motor vehicle workshops, commercial printers, welders, steel workers and cabinet makers would be among those to benefit from the new laws.

More  information on the measures can be found here