Customer focus
Targets
By 2027 we aim to have:
- Facilitated a responsive and streamlined approach to support Queensland’s economy.
- Improved guidance material and training for our customers.
On track
- Our regulatory efforts are focussed on protecting environmental values while supporting Queensland’s economy.
- We are making more forms available for customers to complete online including the application for pre-lodgement services and the environmental reporting form for reporting environmental incidents.
Actions
Action 4.1
Publish service delivery standards and timeframes online for customer response actions including, for example, public register requests and community reports.
Status:
The 2023 Progress Report includes details about the delivery of this action.
Action 4.2
Improve reporting on performance including making more data about assessment processes and timeframes available publicly.
(Links to Key Focus Area 6: Improve regulatory efficiency of the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan)
Status:
- We actively monitor our regulatory performance and have a range of indicators that are reported through our Service Delivery Standards (e.g. percentage of matters finalised with a conviction or a successful application).
- Performance results are included in the ‘Our Performance’ section of the department’s Annual Report. We have also published annual departmental achievements for 2022-2023.
- Performance statistics for Environmental Impact Statements, including timeframes for assessments are available online.
Action 4.3
Improve online customer experience and encourage the engagement of customers in regulatory processes (e.g. public register portal, Online Services for authority holders, community reporting of nuisance issues, dedicated web page development for significant environmental matters of community interest).
Status:
- Customers can engage with us online for a range of regulatory processes including:
- Public register – Environmental Protection Act 1994
- Online services
- Reporting pollution
- Online Services is a digital platform for online customer information and transactions to enable faster and easier interactions with the department.
- We are making more forms available for customers to complete online including the application for pre-lodgement services and the application for a temporary emissions licence.
- We continue to add new information and capabilities to the Public Register Portal over time including new modules for registered suitable operators, environmental authority applications and improved searching capability which allows users to add multiple criteria to their searches.
- Members of the public can subscribe to be alerted when an environmental authority application is available for public consultation.
- We have also created a dedicated community issues webpage that can be directly accessed from the department’s homepage. The community issues webpage includes details and links to further information and data related to current and historic community issues.
Action 4.4
Better inform the community on our role as a regulator and the community’s ability to help protect Queensland’s environment including:
- how to report alleged illegal activities
- the actions that may be taken in response to community reports.
Status:
- We regularly publish:
- Regulatory Update newsletters to keep the community aware of important compliance and enforcement information.
- Swanbank and New Chum odour updates to keep the community aware of departmental activities and any other information the department may wish to communicate.
- We have published a customer service charter for management of the Pollution Hotline, a Queensland Government service for the reporting of pollution and environmental incidents and environmental non-compliance issues.