Boost to quarry approvals

Victoria’s quarry production is rising to meet demand across the state and an increase in approvals is ensuring this can continue in the years to come.

Victoria’s quarry production is rising to meet demand across the state and an increase in approvals is ensuring this can continue in the years to come.

Thanks to support from the Resources Victoria Approvals Coordination unit, for every one tonne of quarry material currently being produced, four new tonnes have now been approved for future development.

The Earth Resources Regulator is approving more material for development year-on-year so quarries can expand to meet demand as infrastructure is built and upgraded. So far this financial year, 26 Work Plan applications, variations and updates have been approved so sites can grow compared to 18 throughout 2022-23.

Victoria’s quarry sector delivered record annual production of 73.6 million tonnes of rock, sand and gravel in 2022-23. This was more than a 2 per cent increase on the previous year and contributed to a 14 per cent increase over three years.

Over 300 million tonnes of new quarry resources are on-track to be approved for industry to develop in future years, which is around four times more than the 2023-24 expected demand.