Community engagement through an energy project

Development and design

Early engagement can identify concerns about location, access, land use and the way alternatives are assessed. The team should explain which options are being considered and what evidence will inform the choice, including the limits on what can change.

The Australian Government’s renewable energy guidance identifies communities, First Nations people and landholders as participants in engagement. Those groups have different interests and authority; engagement with one should not be presented as speaking for the others.

Assessment and consultation

Formal consultation needs material that explains the proposal and its likely effects, supported by the relevant technical studies. The project team should distinguish feedback it can act on directly from matters determined through a statutory process.

Reporting should preserve the substance of concerns and explain the response. The infrastructure approvals article considers how this work relates to the decision on permission to proceed.

Construction information

During construction, people often need practical information about traffic, access, noise, timing and whom to contact. Notices should identify the affected area, the expected activity, any action residents need to take and where changes will be communicated.

The delivery team needs a reliable route for escalating an unexpected impact and obtaining checked information from the people doing the work. A communications timetable based on an outdated construction programme can create avoidable uncertainty.

Operations and continuing relationships

Once a project is operating, the organisation still needs arrangements for enquiries, complaints and changes that affect neighbours. The contact route and responsibility for responses should remain clear after the construction team leaves.

The engagement handover guide is the detailed resource for transferring commitments and unresolved matters between project stages.