Social and Community Development & Social Impact Management

The resources sector understands the potential social impacts and opportunities associated with resource development. QRC works closely with its member companies to help build a long-term, sustainable future for regional Queensland communities. 

The Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Act 2017 (Qld) (the SSRC Act) ensures residents near mining operations benefit from the construction and operation of those projects. The Queensland Government completed a post implementation review of the SSRC Act in 2021 with the following recommendations:

1.  Retain the SSRC Act.
2. Undertake further review of the SSRC Act, particularly regarding the effectiveness of the social impact assessment (SIA) provisions. 
3. Implement collaborative data collection for the SSRC Act through:
   1. Engagement with the resource industry to obtain annual updates on how large resource projects are achieving the intent of the SSRC Act.
   2. Ongoing collaboration with the resource industry to identify and leverage other avenues for data collection.
   3. Obtaining and analysing government collected data to identify whether the effects of the SSRC Act can be isolated from other factors that would have an influence on communities. 
4. Improve awareness and understanding of the anti-discrimination provisions of the resource communities.