BRISBANE, Queensland, Oct. 22 -- The Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet issued text of the following statement:

JOINT STATEMENT

Minister for Local Government and Water and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers

The Honourable Ann Leahy

Minister for Primary Industries

The Honourable Tony Perrett

* Reduction of red tape for dams, weirs, bridges and culvert projects is allowing projects to be streamlined and delivered for Queenslanders earlier. * Under the reforms championed by local government and industry, 90% water projects aren't required to construct costly fish passages. * Sensible reforms balance protections for native fish populations with project delivery * TheCrisafulli Government is reducing unnecessary red tape for local government and infrastructure projects, to deliver projects more quickly.

The Crisafulli Government has removed onerous and costly requirements for fish passages, streamlining dam and weir developments, as well as bridge and culvert projects, while balancing appropriate safeguards for native fish.

In August 2025 changes were made to requirements for construction of fish passages in development applications and approvals on over 90% of waterway barrier works, culverts, disaster recovery works or dam and weir repairs.

Since the change, 121 referable dams and weirs have been assessed by the Department of Primary Industries, in partnership with the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers, and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning.

Only ten percent were found to require a fish passage, meaning 90 per cent avoided additional costs for construction, which can range from $2 million for smaller weirs to an estimated $250 million for larger dams, as well as lengthy delays due to design requirements.

Under the reform, high environmental standards continue to protect native fish stocks, and where required, fish passages are a condition of planning approvals.

The change means critical water storage projects, as well as transport projects can be delivered earlier, without additional costs, respecting Queenslanders money.

During Labor's decade of decline, local governments and dam proponents raised concerns about the time, cost and uncertainty in determining if fish passages were required for new dams, weirs and culverts but the former Government failed to act.

The former Labor Government even made fish passages compulsory on waterways with no fish populations, like pumped hydro storage projects.

Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said the change highlighted the Crisafulli Government's commitment to delivering red tape reduction following feedback from the community.

"We've delivered one of the most significant red tape reduction reforms in decades; it has reduced unnecessary costs, and provided certainty for infrastructure planning, development and disaster recovery works," Minister Perrett said.

"Developments that need fish passages to protect native stocks are still required to build fish passages, this change means waterways are individually considered rather than having an expensive and excessive one size fits all rule applied.

"Cressbrook Creek Dam is one of the 90% of dams assessed under the new legislation to no longer require a fish passage to be built, saving the Toowoomba Regional Council and its ratepayers millions of dollars in additional costs.

"These reforms are delivering millions in savings this year and potentially billions into the future which is why stakeholders are praising the reforms for their practicality and cost-effectiveness."

Minister for Local Government and Water Ann Leahy said the reforms were delivering commonsense regulation and savings for Queensland councils and their communities.

"Every dollar councils don't have to spend navigating unnecessary red tape is a dollar that can be put towards the infrastructure and services Queensland communities actually need," Minister Leahy said.

"For too long, councils were forced to contend with costly, one-size-fits-all requirements that added time, uncertainty and potentially millions of dollars to important water infrastructure projects."

Treasurer and Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki said this was another example of how the Crisafulli Government is unlocking productivity and driving economic outcomes for Queeensland.

"This review is proof we can balance the environmental outcomes while driving economic growth, without tying up projects in undue bureaucracy and regulation," Treasurer Janetzki said.

"The Crisafulli Government has invested $54 million into the Cressbrook Dam Safety Improvement Project to strengthen dam safety, improve flood resilience and help secure a reliable water source for more then 180,000 people."

Member forToowoomba North Trevor Watts said removing this unnecessary red tape wasgood news for all regional Queenslanders.

"We said we'd cut the red tape holding our regions back, we're delivering on that, and 12 months of results speak for themselves," Mr Watts said.

Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Alison Smith said the changes were helping to reduce the regulatory burden on councils while helping to deliver cost savings.

"These reforms are exactly what councils had been calling for and it's great to see they're working as intended," Ms Smith said.

"They strike the right balance between encouraging more infrastructure and safeguarding local environments and are making it easier for councils to rebuild following natural disasters."

Toowoomba Regional Council, Mayor Geoff McDonald welcomed the practical outcome of the legislative change.

"We appreciate the Department of Primary Industries' collaborative approach in working with Council and our project team throughout the approval process," Mayor McDonald said.

"The Changes maintains appropriate environmental safeguards, while avoiding more than $5 million in additional fish passage infrastructure costs that would otherwise have been added to the Cressbrook Dam Safety Improvement Project.

"Avoiding any additional costs of this scale is a significant and positive outcome for our Toowoomba Region water users as we continue delivering the critical dam safety improvements needed to support long-term water security needed for our region."

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Bond, 0417 199 369

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.