Multiple land use framework: Background document

Access to land, under clear and efficient processes that take into account environmental, heritage, cultural values and land ownership issues, is fundamentally important to the successful management of competing interests of mining, energy, agriculture, environment, community and other significant land users. On 10 June 2011, State, Territory and Australian Government Ministers responsible for resources and energy portfolios endorsed the development of the Standing Council on Energy and Resources (SCER) Multiple Land Use Framework (MLUF). The MLUF is designed to be used by decision makers, primarily regulators, to achieve multiple and sequential land use outcomes that:

• Utilise land for different purposes simultaneously and sustainably within an area, with a view to maximising the benefits for all Australians, and to retain options for current and future uses to maximise net benefits to present and future generations.
• Utilise land sequentially, enabling land to be used later for another purpose once the current land use has ended or been terminated, noting sequential land use may be a reinstatement of the former land use or development of an alternative land use.

The MLUF features:

• Four desired outcomes;
• Eight principles to guide land access and land use decisions; and
• Nine components to consider in planning, preparing and assessing land access and land use decisions.