EIS or REF — picking the right one matters.
Review of Environmental Factors (REF) applies to activities assessed under Part 5 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. It's the right pathway for council roadside works, public authority activities, infrastructure projects where the proponent is also the determining authority, and a range of development types specified under State Environmental Planning Policies. A well-prepared REF can determine a project without the public exhibition and formal assessment process required for a DA.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required for designated development under Part 4, State Significant Development, State Significant Infrastructure, and projects with significant environmental impact that don't fit the REF pathway. EIS documentation is substantially more involved, requires public exhibition, and typically extends the assessment timeline by six to twelve months.
The choice between them isn't always obvious. Projects sometimes get lodged under the wrong instrument and have to be withdrawn and re-lodged. Causing a six-month setback in the best case. We assess the pathway in the first week of engagement, before any documentation is committed.
What we deliver
- Environmental Impact Statements prepared in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 and the relevant Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). Biophysical, social, and economic impacts assessed against the applicable guidelines, with mitigation specified to a level your construction team can actually implement.
- Reviews of Environmental Factors prepared in accordance with Clause 228 of the EP&A Regulation, addressing the matters required by the determining authority. REFs that anticipate agency concerns and address them up front, rather than waiting to be told.
- Statements of Environmental Effects for Part 4 development applications that don't require an EIS, prepared in accordance with the relevant council's requirements.
Water-related impact components, done properly.
Environmental assessments are multidisciplinary documents, but they consistently get held up on the same components: water quality, flooding, stormwater, and groundwater. These are the sections that attract the most agency scrutiny, generate the most RFIs, most often require revision and carry heavy penalties.
This is Eko's home turf. We've spent over ten years working in water. Conducting water balance, water loss, water quality, and water monitoring. When we write the water sections of an EIS or REF, we write them as the technical author, not as a generalist summarising a sub-consultant. That means fewer RFIs, faster determination, and a document the agency can rely on.
For non-water components, we coordinate trusted specialists under our project management.
What it costs
EIS and REF fees vary substantially with project scale and complexity. We provide a fixed-fee quote within five business days of discussing your project brief.