Environmental approvals have been granted for all sections of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) project (Northern, Central and Southern).

Northern and Central Sections

State Assessment for the Northern and Central Sections

In June 2019, we referred the northern and central sections to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for assessment under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act. The EPA determined that BORR northern and central sections be assessed at the level of Referral Information with Additional Information.

The Additional Information for BORR northern and central section was released for community review and comment during March and April 2020. Main Roads then provided a response to the EPA for the community comments received during this period.

The EPA released its Report and Recommendations on 29 June 2020. The appeals period to the EPA Report and Recommendations closed on 13 July 2020 with a number of appeals received. We provided a response to the appeals, which was considered by the WA Appeals Convenor who provided advice to the Minister for the Environment.

On 14 December 2020, the Minister for Environment provided conditional environmental approval for the northern and central sections, subject to conditions. View Ministerial Statement 1155 for further information on the approval and conditions.

Commonwealth Assessment for Northern and Central Sections

In June 2019, we referred the northern and central sections to the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) for a decision on the need for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act).

In accordance with Section 95A(3) of the EPBC Act, the Original Referral document and Preliminary Documentation for the proposed action was available for public comment from 28 May to 28 June, 2020 inclusive. No public submissions were received on the Preliminary Documentation.

In accordance with Section 95B(4) of the EPBC Act, a written statement noting that no comments were received, the original EPBC referral document and the Preliminary Documentation were made publicly available for information for 20 business days from 16 July, 2020. No submissions were received through the second stage of advertising.

On 22 December 2020, DCCEEW provided conditional environmental approval for the northern and central sections (EPBC 2019/8471). For further information, visit the EPBC Act Public Portal.

Southern Section

Two corridors were investigated as part of the southern alignment assessment. The investigation included the preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for each option:

• Southern Section GBRS Alignment Environmental Impact Assessment - PDF (36 MB)
• Southern Section Alternative Alignment Environmental Impact Assessment - PDF (41 MB) no longer progressing

An assessment of the two options resulted in the GBRS Alignment being selected as the preferred alignment:

• Southern Section Alignment Selection Report

State Assessment for the Southern Section

In September 2019, we referred the southern section for consideration by the EPA as to the need for and level of assessment under the EP Act, 1986. The EPA determined that the southern section also be assessed at the level of referral information with additional information.

The Updated Referral and Additional Information document for the southern section was made available for community review and comment over the period 19 October to 14 December 2020. The EPA advised that they received a total of 998 submissions and we provided responses to all issues raised back to the EPA for their consideration. 

In October 2021, the EPA released a recommendations report on the proposal for the Southern Section of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road, recommending that the project proceeds under the EPA’s specified conditions. Visit the EPA website to view the report. 

The EPA’s report was open for a three-week public appeal period, closing on 15 November 2021. The EPA Appeals Convenor investigated 170 appeals, visiting the site and meeting with appellants prior to making recommendations to the Minister for Environment.

On 31 May 2022, the WA Minister for Environment provided conditional environmental approval for the southern section in Ministerial Statement 1191. For further information, visit the EPA website. 

Commonwealth Assessment for the Southern Section

In September 2019, we referred the southern section to DCCEEW for a decision on the need for assessment under the EPBC Act. DCCEEW determined that the southern section be formally assessed.

In accordance with Section 95A(3) of the EPBC Act, the Original Referral document and Preliminary Documentation for the proposed action was available for public comment from 16 November to 18 December 2020 inclusive. During this time we received and referred on to DCCEEW, 83 public submissions.

In accordance with Section 95B(2) of the EPBC Act, the original EPBC referral document, the response to public submissions and the amended referral document were available for information only, for 20 business days from 14 April 2022. No submissions were received through the second stage of advertising.

On 30 June 2022, DCCEEW provided conditional environmental approval for the southern section (EPBC 2019/8543). For further information, visit the EPBC Act Public Portal.

View compliance documents on our Construction Projects Report page.

During the planning phase of the project, two Community Reference Groups (CRGs) were established. The groups each focused on a different section of the project being north and central, and south.

In addition to the CRGs, seven Community Information Sessions were held. These commenced in October 2018 with meetings in Australind, Eaton, Bunbury, and Gelorup. Two were held in February 2019 in Bunbury and Australind. The last meeting was held in August 2019 in Gelorup.

The ‘drop in’ sessions provided an opportunity for interested community members to review project information, meet the project team and ask questions. The meetings were well attended. The key themes raised by community members were alignment selection, environmental impacts and local access/connections. 

Further meetings were held with directly impacted landowners to discuss specific issues relating to the effects on their properties.

A Local Access Strategy Workshop was held providing local residents who may be affected by the proposed Centenary Road interchange to have input into the local access options being considered.

View the presentations from the Community Reference Group meetings and further information on noise impacts and visual amenities below.

The South West Gateway Alliance is now engaging with stakeholders, the community and local business on an ongoing basis. The community consultation program includes multiple advisory groups across local business, Aboriginal community and business, urban design, local government, active transport and more. In addition, regular business briefings are held, and the community is welcome to visit the project information office at 75 Victoria Street, Bunbury.

Subscribe for project updates.

Results of design survey and community session

Residents from the Gelorup area were invited to a community drop-in session in March 2022. The purpose of this session was to gather feedback on the proposed Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) initiatives for the southern section.

Following this engagement, a report was produced that outlines the results from both the Gelorup drop-in session and wider community feedback that was obtained from the Design Enhancements Survey that focused on the southern section initiatives.

View the Executive Summary of the findings. 

Noise impacts from new roads are managed under State Planning Policy 5.4 - “Road and Rail Transport Noise and Freight Considerations in Land Use Planning”. As part of the environmental assessment process, we undertook noise monitoring to calibrate a noise model, which will ensure the project is compliant once completed. This included obtaining base line noise levels from monitoring noise at key points within the project alignment.

A complex range of factors impact on noise levels, including the topography of the land, the type of road surface, buildings, traffic volumes and types of vehicle. These are all taken into account in the noise model.

We use a range of mitigation measures in seeking to ensure that noise levels remain within the limits of State Planning Policy 5.4. These include the construction of noise walls/bunds, or architectural treatments to individual properties.

In cases where the visual amenity of a residence is affected as a result of new road works, (i.e. the property outlook) we meet owners and discuss measures to reduce this impact. Examples include using screen planting (such as densely planted trees) as mitigation.

Find out more information in the Noise and Visual Amenity Fact Sheet.

Southern Section EPBC Assessment

The initial documents (Referral Information and Preliminary Documentation) submitted for the EPBC assessment of the Southern Section are available for review via the following links.

Referral Information 2019

• BORR Southern Section Referral
• Appendix A - Figure 1
• Appendix A - Figure 2
• Appendix A - Figure 3
• Appendix A - Figure 4
• Appendix A - Figure 5
• Appendix A - Figure 6
• Appendix A - Figure 7
• Appendix A - Figure 8
• Appendix B - Stakeholder Consultation 
• Appendix C - Biota 2019b - part 1
• Appendix C - Biota 2019b - part 2
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 1
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 2
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 3
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 4
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 5
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 6
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 7
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 8
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 9
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 10
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 11
• Appendix C - BORR IPT 2019a - part 12
• Appendix C - Main Roads WA (2018)
• Appendix C - WRM (2019)
• Appendix C - BORR Heritage Survey - part 1 
• Appendix C - BORR Heritage Survey 2012
• Table 1-1 - Local Government Contact Details 

Preliminary documentation 2020

• Southern Section Additional Information for Preliminary Documentation
• Appendix A - Figures
• Appendix B - Additional Information Request
• Appendix C - BORR Southern Section Vegetation and Flora Study
• Appendix D - Phytophthora Dieback Survey
• Appendix E - Targeted Fauna Assessment
• Appendix F - Aquatic Fauna Survey 
• Appendix G - Review of Regional Claypan Occurrences 
• Appendix H - Memorandum Targeted Rare Flora Survey for Diuris drummondii
• Appendix I - Risk Assessments
• Appendix J - Vegetation Monitoring Program
• Appendix K - Proposed Management, Risk Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting matrices
• Appendix L - Black Cockatoo Action Management Plan
• Appendix M - Conservation Signigicant Fauna Environmental Management Plan
• Appendix N - Environmental Offset Strategy
• Appendix O - Stakeholder Consultation
• Appendix P - Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry 
• Appendix Q - Archaeological Aboriginal Heritage Survey of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road Southern Section
• Appendix R - Report of an Ethnographic Survey of Bunbury Outer Ring Road Southern Section, Gelorup, Western Australia
• Appendix S - Bunbury Outer Ring Road Southern Section Traffic Noise Assessment
• Appendix T - BORR Southern Section Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment part 1
• Appendix T - BORR Southern Section Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment part 2
• Appendix T - BORR Southern Section Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment part 3
• Appendix T - BORR Southern Section Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment part 4

In accordance with Section 95B(2) of the EPBC Act, the original EPBC referral document, the response to public submissions and amended referral document are available for information purposes only for 20 business days from 14 April 2022 via the following links.

Original EPBC referral document 2019

• Referral Summary
• Appendix A - Figure 1
• Appendix A - Figure 2
• Appendix A - Figure 3
• Appendix A - Figure 4
• Appendix A - Figure 5
• Appendix A - Figure 6
• Appendix A - Figure 7
• Appendix A - Figure 8
• Appendix B - Stakeholder Consultation
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 1 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 2 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 3 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 4 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 5 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 6 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 7 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 8 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 9 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 10 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 11 of 12
• Appendix C - Attachments List Part 12 of 12
• Appendix C - Biota Part 1 of 2
• Appendix C - Biota Part 2 of 2
• Appendix C - Heritage Survey 2012 Part 1
• Appendix C - Heritage Survey 2012 Part 2
• Appendix C - Main Roads WA 2018
• Appendix C - WRM 2019
• Table 1-1 Local Government Contact Details

Amended Southern Section Additional Information for Preliminary Documentation 2022

• Southern Section Additional Information for Preliminary Documentation - March 2022
• Appendix A. Figures
• Appendix B Additional Information Request
• Appendix C. Flora & Veg Survey
• Appendix D. Dieback Survey
• Appendix E. Targeted Fauna Survey
• Appendix F. Aquatic Fauna Survey
• Appendix G. Regional Claypan
• Appendix H. Diuris Survey
• Appendix I_Risk Assessments
• Appendix J. VMP
• Appendix K. Management matrices
• Appendix L. Cockatoo AMP
• Appendix M. Fauna AMP
• Appendix N. Offset Strategy
• Appendix O. Stakeholder Consultation
• Appendix P. Aboriginal Heritage Inq
• Appendix Q. Archaeological Survey
• Appendix R. Ethnographic Survey
• Appendix S. Noise Assessment
• Appendix T. LVIA
• Appendix U ASS Report

Response to Public Submissions

• Response to Public Submissions 2022

Southern Section EP Act Assessment Documents

Documents submitted for the Environmental Protection Act assessment of the BORR southern section are accessible via the EPA website.

Northern and Central Sections EPBC Assessment

Documents submitted for the EPBC assessment of the BORR northern and central sections are available via the following links:

Northern and Central Notice of Responses to Public Advertising - PDF (252 KB)

Additional Information

• Part 1 - Cover, Executive Summary and Table of Contents
• Part 2 - Introduction
• Part 3 - Descripton of the Envrionment and Matters of National Envrionmental Significance
• Part 4 - Avoidance and Mitigation Measures
• Part 5 - Offsets
• Part 6 - Economic and Social Impacts
• Part 7 - Ecologically Sustainable Development
• Part 8 - Environmental Record of the Person Proposing to Take the Action
• Part 9 - Other Approvals and Conditions
• Part 10 - Relevant Policies and Publications
• Part 11 - Information Sources
• Part 12 - References
• Part 13a - Appendix A Figures Part 1
• Part 13b - Appendix A Figures Part 2
• Part 13c - Appendix A Figures Part 3
• Part 14 - Appendix B Additional Information Request
• Part 15 - Appendix C Stakeholder Consultation
• Part 16a - Appendix D BORR Vegetation and Flora Study Part 1
• Part 16b - Appendix D BORR Vegetation and Flora Study Part 2
• Part 16c - Appendix D BORR Vegetation and Flora Study Part 3
• Part 17 - Appendix E BORR Targeted Fauna Assessment
• Part 18 - Appendix F Targeted Conservation Aquatic Fauna Survey
• Part 19 - Appendix G TEC Vegetation Monitoring Program
• Part 20 - Appendix H Conservation Significant Environmental Management Plan
• Part 21 - Appendix I Black Cockatoo Action Management Plan
• Part 22 - Appendix J Offset Strategy
• Part 23 - Appendix K Final Report of an Aboriginal Heritage Survey
• Part 24 - Appendix L ISO Environmental Management Systems Certificate of Confidence
• Part 25 - Appendix M Main Roads Environmental Policy​

Northern and Central Sections EP Act Assessment Documents

Documents submitted for the Environmental Protection Act assessment of the BORR northern and central sections are accessible via the EPA website